


Christmas With You Will Be Worth It

by xSophie2x



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Movies, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Ending, Happy Theo Raeken, M/M, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:03:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSophie2x/pseuds/xSophie2x
Summary: Theo recently moved in with Liam and his parents, and Liam is shocked when Theo tells him that he never really celebrated Christmas. Now he's determined to make Theo like Christmas, but of course that doesn't always happen smoothly.Includes: supernatural snowball fights, insulthing each other with Christmas songs, discussing Last Christmas by Wham!, making fun of Love Actually, destroying the kitchen while baking cookies, and other things that Theo and Liam do for Christmas.





	Christmas With You Will Be Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here! I worked so hard on this fanfic lately to get it done in time for the holidays. This been a little stressful at times because of that as well, but it was mostly fun to write. And I've even neglected my other fanfic Stand By You, so I'm sorry! I'm working on it again though, and even though I don't know when the new chapter will be finished, I hope it will be soon! 
> 
> I actually planned to post this tomorrow, but it was finally finished and I felt kinda proud of it (I hope that's alright to say about your own fanfic) so I just posted it today. 
> 
> Also: this fanfic is really long, so that's why it took so long probably. I still hope you like it though.

As soon as Theo woke up, he could tell something was different. Something felt different. And he just couldn’t put his finger on it.  
With a sigh, he opened his eyes and looked around the room he still wasn’t sure whether to really call his own. Light from outside was already shining into the room through the curtains, and Theo had to blink a few times to get used to it. He shivered a bit, as it was cold in the room, and Theo could still remember bits and pieces of last night’s nightmare even if he tried to push them to the back of his mind. He thought there were better ways to start your morning.  
Sighing, Theo got out of bed with the bedcovers still wrapped around his shoulders, and as he put his bare feet on the ice cold floor of the bedroom, he cursed himself for making that decision. With the blankets around his shoulders, he walked over to the window and opened the curtains.

Sighing softly as he did so.

Outside, in the garden, there was a thin layer of snow that covered the lawn, the trees, the street, everything. Theo let out a deep breath as he thought of the many disadvantages that came with snow. Disadvantages like the cold, or the slippery streets, or the puddles that were left behind when the snow melted. No, Theo didn’t like snow, and he didn’t think he ever would.  
The sound of people shuffling around downstairs interrupted his thoughts though, and Theo turned around. He dropped the bedcovers back on the bed, making sure it looked nice and tidy, and pulled his sweater and jeans on. He could already hear Liam and his parents downstairs, softly talking and laughing, sounds of a happy family in the morning, and Theo’s heart started to beat a little faster at the thought of going down there. It still made him feel a bit nervous.

After getting dressed, he slowly walked down the stairs, already faintly smelling the delicious smell of breakfast being made. Quietly, he walked into the kitchen to see Liam, Jenna and David laughing with each other, and he stood still in the doorway for a moment watching them. It didn’t take long for Jenna to notice him though, and she smiled.

‘Good morning, Theo,’ she said. ‘You’re in luck, the coffee’s just ready. Do you want some?’

‘Eh, yeah,’ Theo replied as he stepped further into the kitchen and sat down at the table. ‘Thank you.’  
David placed a plate with toast and eggs on the table in front of him, which looked just as good as it smelled. Theo only realized that he was more than just a little bit hungry. Eagerly, he took a bite, happy to find that it tasted just as good as it looked.

‘So,’ Jenna said then, as she sat down across from Theo again after giving him his coffee. ‘What are you boys gonna do today?’

Liam shrugged, holding his own cup of coffee in his hands as he leaned against the kitchen counter. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I haven’t really thought about it yet, but…’

He was interrupted by Theo, the older boy staring at him dumbly. ‘What… What are you wearing?’ he asked.

‘Hm?’ Liam looked down, at his clothes. ‘Oh, this!?’ he grinned, looking back up again, beaming. ‘A Christmas sweater!’

‘…Why?’

Theo looked around the kitchen until he spotted the calendar that was hanging on the wall, and saw what date it was.  
December 1.  
It was December 1.  
That meant it was Christmas month. And apparently that meant that Liam had generally gotten a little more excited as well.  
Theo groaned internally, unable to believe that he was somehow stuck with someone who was so excited for Christmas. At least that explained the weird feeling he had when he woke up.

‘Because, well, I found it in my closet and I wanted to wear it. And it’s December, so that means I can,’ Liam said, just as Theo suspected.

Jenna chuckled, looking at her son. ‘I think, sweetie,’ she said, ‘That he means it may still be a little early for those.’

Theo nodded, pleasantly surprised and feeling a little shocked that Jenna got his back, especially when he questioned her son like that and just hoped she wouldn’t think it was rude.  
Liam looked pensive for only a moment though, before he shook his head and continued drinking his coffee. ‘Nope!’ he said. ‘Never too early for Christmas.’

Theo looked down, rolling his eyes but not wanting anyone to see, because after all, his morning had seemingly turned around a little bit since had come downstairs. He hadn’t woken up so nicely, had been in a bit of a bad mood, but the coffee and the delicious breakfast and the friendliness had done wonders for his mood. He didn’t want to come across as rude, and lose all that. Quietly, he continued his breakfast.

Across from him, Jenna got up and said: ‘David and I actually need to get some groceries, so we’ll be gone for a little bit.’

Theo nodded, and Jenna smiled, grabbing a grocery bag. David waited for her before they walked to the hallway, and Jenna called over her shoulder: ‘Bye! Don’t forget to lock the doors if you’re going somewhere!’

Then, the door fell shut behind her, and Liam sat down across from Theo, smiling at him. Theo, who was glad that the Christmas subject was dropped, smiled back a little and finished his breakfast. Then, he followed Liam to the living room when the younger boy asked him if they could play a video game.

*****

Theo thought it was safe to say, that he had never seen such an incredulous look on Liam’s face. His mouth was half open and his eyes were wide, and Theo thought he looked a little ridiculous. Apparently the message that he had never properly celebrated Christmas, hadn’t been received too well.

‘You… What?’ Liam sputtered. ‘Never!? But it’s the best time of the year!’

‘Well, I don’t know, Liam,’ Theo replied bitterly, considerably feeling more at ease now that it was just him and Liam, without Jenna and David in the room, because he had known Liam for longer. ‘Growing up with the Dread Doctors never really gave me a magical Christmas, I suppose.’

‘Right,’ Liam mumbled, staring down at his feet before looking up again. ‘Well, it can’t stay that way. I’m gonna do something about that.’

‘Like what?’ Theo asked, sighing. They had their video game paused, courtesy of Liam after hearing the news, and Theo stared at the beta sitting on the other couch with his controller still in his hands.  
Liam bit his lip, pausing and thinking for a moment, before looking up with a particularly bright look on his face that Theo worried couldn’t mean much good.

‘I know!’ he said. ‘I’m gonna make you like Christmas!’

Theo’s head snapped up, his attention drawn away from the video game completely now, any hope that they were gonna continue playing gone. ‘You what now?’ he asked dumbly.

‘I’m gonna make you like Christmas,’ Liam repeated, sounding far more excited than anyone should while speaking those words.

Theo groaned. ‘Do you have to?’

Then, as soon as the bright look on Liam’s face had appeared, it was gone again and he sighed. ‘Yes, Theo, I have to. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, you can not not like it!’

‘Watch me,’ Theo replied stubbornly, staring back at the screen wistfully and wishing that they could just continue their game.

Liam groaned, clearly growing annoyed with him. ‘I mean it, Theo. Just let me do this. Please?’

There was something in Liam’s voice that made Theo doubt, something that showed how important this was to him, and he looked up, immediately realizing what a mistake he had made. Liam was staring at him with big blue eyes, almost begging, and Theo could feel his resistance fading away. Ever since the Ghost Riders and the hunters, he’d had trouble saying no to those eyes. Theo could pretend that he didn’t know why, but he knew it was because of the small crush he had on Liam, even if he was none too happy about it. That was why he had agreed to moving in with Liam and his parents just last week, even if he was rather unsure about it. And he guessed, now was no different.

‘Fine,’ he sighed, sliding down the back of the couch until he didn’t sit up straight anymore. ‘But only because you seem particularly cheerful yourself in this time of year.’

‘Yeeh!’ Liam cheered, jumping up and walking towards the hallway as he said: ‘And I’m cheerful because I like Christmas. Soon, you’ll like it too, you’ll see.’

Then he was gone, and Theo rolled his eyes. ‘That’s a reassurance,’ he mumbled sarcastically, turning back to the video game and deciding to just finish it on his own for now.

*****

‘I called for back-up,’ Liam announced when he walked back into the room.

Theo looked up, with raised eyebrows. ‘Back-up?’ he questioned.

Liam nodded, falling back down on the couch with a smile. ‘Yeah, back-up,’ he said, sounding a little too pleased with himself for Theo’s liking. ‘You’ll see.’

Theo wasn’t really sure he liked the sound of that, as he didn’t like surprises and Liam seemed to have a lot planned for the both of them, but luckily he didn’t have to wait too long. He and Liam had hung around on the couch in front of the TV for only a little bit before the doorbell rang, and Liam stood up.

‘There they are,’ he said.

Theo looked up, his eyebrows furrowed. ‘They?’ he asked, as he stood up and followed Liam to the hallway.

‘Yeah, Mason, Corey and Nolan,’ Liam explained.

Theo looked down, could already feel a feeling of dread washing over him. ‘Corey…’ he mumbled, so softly that Liam couldn’t hear him.

He hadn’t really seen the other chimera very often lately, much to Theo’s relief. Not since their little, unfortunate encounter with the hellhound in Eichen House where Corey almost burned alive and died because of him, and Theo was honestly glad about that, because if they did see each other, he had no idea what to say to him. Corey had absolutely no reason to forgive him, no matter what he said, and Theo was well aware of that. He wasn’t even sure if he would forgive himself for that.  
But now, of course, Liam had to go and invite them all to his house, forcing Theo to face the younger boy, and of course Liam would invite them because they were his best friends, and Theo didn’t blame him for that. He was just nervous.

The sound of Liam opening the door interrupted his thoughts, and he put his hands in his pockets as Liam greeted his friends. ‘Hey guys!’

One by one, they stepped inside the house, and Theo had to step back a little to make room for all of them. He stood to the side, watching silently with his hands in his pockets as they all greeted each other, any hope of ever being a part of their group fading away.

‘So,’ Mason said then. ‘It’s good you called us.’

‘Well, you know,’ Liam shrugged. ‘In case of emergencies…’

Nolan snorted. ‘Yeah, no kidding,’ he said. ‘You said Theo had never really celebrated Christmas? How is that even possible!?’

Theo’s head shot up. Liam told them? He didn’t know how he felt about that. Still, they were all here, even after learning that it was about something that involved him, and Theo couldn’t help but feel a little bit shocked at that.

‘Well, how it happened doesn’t matter,’ Liam said, not mentioning anything about the Dread Doctors and making Theo feel incredibly thankful. ‘But I’ve thought of something that could be fun, like it should be at the start of the Christmas season.’

‘Like what?’ Mason asked.

Liam took his coat from the coat rack, along with a scarf and a pair of gloves, and gave Theo his own coat. ‘Like a snowball fight!’ he replied, as he pulled the door open again.

Theo looked up, his eyes widening. ‘What?’ he exclaimed. ‘No, Liam, I hate snow!’

Liam just grabbed his wrist though, and pulled him outside until they were standing on the snowy doorstep. ‘You won’t anymore after this,’ he said, sounding sure of himself. ‘I promise.’

Again, Theo realized that this was important to Liam, still knowing that Liam wouldn’t pressure him if he really didn’t want to, and he sighed. ‘Fine,’ he said, again having trouble saying no to him.

Liam smiled, excitedly, and turned around to walk over to Mason and Nolan who were standing a little further away from them. Theo stared after him, looking at where they had already started throwing snow at each other, and he thought that maybe he should just give it a chance. Maybe he really would like it.  
His thoughts were interrupted then, though, when someone appeared beside him and Theo looked up to find the younger boy standing beside him.  
Corey.

‘You get used to it,’ he said, nodding towards the other boys and obviously referring to how they always seemed to be a bit more lively than the two of them.

Theo swallowed. ‘Yeah?’ he asked, a bit nervous.

Corey nodded, chuckling. ‘Yeah, you sort of learn to,’ he said. ‘Now come on, if we’re gonna keep standing here for much longer they’re gonna chuck all the snow at us.’

He started to walk towards his friends, but Theo stopped him, blurting out his name before he could really stop himself. ‘Corey!’

Corey turned around, looking at him with a questioning look on his face. ‘Yeah?’

‘I, eh… Nothing,’ Theo nervously said, suddenly not knowing what he wanted to say anymore and internally facepalming himself.

‘That’s okay,’ Corey said with a smile, somehow making Theo feel like he was talking about more than just him not remembering what he wanted to say. And if Corey really felt like that, like he could forgive Theo for everything that happened, then maybe things weren’t so hopeless after all.

Then, Corey walked over to his friends, standing a little further away from them in the snow, and Theo turned around to lock the door, like Jenna asked. If Liam wasn’t gonna remember to do it, he should.  
He was startled then, though, his thoughts interrupted, by a scream coming from behind him.

‘Snowball!’ Mason yelled, jumping closer to him and shoving a handful of snow down his neck. Theo gasped, cringing at the nasty, cold feeling in his neck, and turned around to face Mason.

Liam, Corey and Nolan stood to the side, sensing that Theo wouldn’t let this slide and that something was about to go down, and waited with bated breath to see what it was. Theo had his jaw clenched, not happy with Mason’s nasty surprise, but instead of lashing out at him like he might have done before, he just leaned down to grab some snow, making it into a perfect round snowball and throwing it right into Mason’s face.

Liam was the first one who burst out laughing, cheering loudly, and Theo grinned. Mason wiped the snow off his face with an unimpressed look, but then he giggled. ‘Yeah, I probably deserved that.’

Theo chuckled, feeling a warmth filling his chest at this kind of revenge, especially when Liam walked up to him and gave him a high-five. ‘That’s the best kind of revenge,’ he laughed.

‘You know what, it did feel nice,’ Theo grinned, earning himself an offended look from Mason, and a snowball hitting him in the back from Nolan. Again, Theo reached down to grab some snow and throw it back at him, and before they knew it, a full-out snowball fight had begun. Theo had started to get quite competitive, and most of the time he was too fast for the other boys to hit him, and in return he hit them pretty well. He had actually started to get a little warm, his face a little red, from throwing snowballs at Liam, when Mason suddenly noticed that Corey was gone. It didn’t take them too long, though, before they figured out what was going on.

‘That’s cheating, Corey!’ Liam yelled. ‘Not all of us can turn invisible, you know.’

Theo grinned, making a snowball and throwing it into a random direction, followed by a quiet: ‘Oh!’

‘Look at the footsteps, you idiots,’ he said, pointing towards them.

Before them, Corey appeared again, still a little snow sticking to his coat, an unimpressed look on his face. ‘Yeah, I’m honestly a little disappointed none of you figured that out,’ he said.

‘Well, sorry if we’re not all supernatural masterminds,’ Nolan replied, and Theo chuckled, because it was a poor excuse, and Nolan seemed to know that too. He fixed it easily though, by throwing another snowball at Corey.

Corey reacted by throwing one back, but missed Nolan and accidentally hit Mason in the stomach. Before Theo knew it, the snowball fight had started again, and he got a little warmer again. Laughing with Liam’s friends was more fun than he thought. Every now and then, one of them secretly used their supernatural powers a little again, much to Mason and Nolan’s offense, but Theo just smirked.  
He used his supernatural powers, every now and then, to throw a snowball at Liam a little harder and a little faster, and it was fun. Especially when Liam did the same to him.  
And when they went back inside after the snowball fight to all drink hot chocolate together and warm themselves up again a little, Theo admitted, if only just to himself, that maybe snow wasn’t so bad after all.

*****

‘I’m trying to make a Christmas playlist,’ Liam said the next day.

Theo paused mid-step, holding his mug of hot chocolate that he figured out the previous day he liked very much, in his hands, and said: ‘Well, that’s not very hard, is it?’

‘It is, if you want a good playlist,’ Liam replied. ‘It’s supposed to get you into the Christmas spirit.’

Theo snorted, recognizing this as just another way Liam tried to make him like Christmas. ‘So?’ he said, walking over to the table to sit down beside him. ‘You just add All I Want For Christmas and Last Christmas to it, and you’re done.’

Liam turned to look at him with a skeptical look on his face, his eyebrows raised. ‘There are more Christmas songs than just those two, you know.’

‘Oh yeah, like what?’ Theo asked. He took the mouse from Liam, pushing his hand aside, and clicked on a random Christmas playlist on Spotify and scrolling through it.  
‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas?’ he asked, turning to Liam.

Upon hearing the song title, Liam’s face lit up, and he clicked on it, adding it to his playlist. ‘That one’s nice!’ he exclaimed.

Theo was still skeptical, thinking that Liam was just a little overexcited again. He clicked on the song, deciding to just play it, and check it out for himself. Frank Sinatra’s soft voice filled the room then, slowly, in the way that the classic Christmas song did, and Theo frowned. He liked it, the singing sounded good, he knew, but there was something missing. ‘Shouldn’t Christmas songs be… happier?’ he asked quietly.

‘It is happy!’ Liam argued. ‘But there are other songs that are more upbeat, if that’s what you mean.’ He scrolled through the list, clicking on something that was called It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. The song started quite upbeat, and as the first lyrics started, Theo could hear why it was a Christmas song.

‘This sounds like something you would like,’ he said to Liam. ‘Pretty much describes you in this time of year.’

Liam rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah? Well, then, this describes you.’

He clicked on a song called Do They Know It’s Christmas? by a group called Band Aid. Theo was willing to listen, although it quickly became clear that he couldn’t relate to it at all, not like Liam thought anyway.

‘Only because of that song title?’ he asked. ‘Because honestly, that doesn’t sound like me at all. I’m honestly a bit disappointed in you there, Dunbar, you’ve done better than that,’ he said, smirking.

‘Well, you’re the one who barely knows what Christmas is about,’ Liam snapped back.

Theo raised his eyebrows, leaning back and crossing his arms. ‘And you think a couple of lame and cheesy songs is gonna fix that?’

‘They might!’ Liam snapped. ‘Listen to this song, for example,’ he said, still referring to Band Aid’s song. ‘Some of the lyrics describe it pretty well, or at least they set the tone for Christmas.’

‘Man,’ Theo mumbled, shaking his head. ‘You really take this way too seriously.’

‘Okay,’ he tried again then. ‘And what about Last Christmas then? Isn’t that more of a love song?’

‘Christmas love song,’ Liam corrected him. ‘But a sad one.’

Theo clicked on the song again, listening to the lyrics for a little bit before he said: ‘Yeah, no kidding, if the guy gave her his heart!’

‘What… Jesus Christ, Theo!’ Liam exclaimed. ‘They mean figuratively, not literally!’

Theo smirked. ‘Well, I don’t know, it could be literally.’

He was joking though, and Liam saw it too. He huffed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. ‘You’re the worst,’ he muttered.

Theo grinned. ‘I suddenly like that song a whole lot more,’ he teased, earning himself a punch against his shoulder from Liam.

‘Seriously though,’ he said then. ‘If the guy didn’t literally give her his heart, how would she be able to give it away? It’s his heart!’

‘People just say that, Theo,’ Liam replied tiredly. ‘I think it means she cheated on him or something.’

‘Yeah, but you can’t just give away someone else’s heart, Liam,’ Theo protested. ‘Unless it’s an actual heart. And then here, a couple lines later, he sings that ‘this year, he’ll give it to someone special.’ But how does that work? Like, when did he get it back? It just doesn’t make any sense.’

Liam groaned. ‘I don’t know, Theo. But I think right now you might be the one who takes things a little too seriously.’

Theo smirked, and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. ‘Oh, how the tables have turned. You don’t know that, do you?’

‘No, I don’t know,’ Liam mumbled defeated, before looking up. ‘It’s a Christmas song. Let’s just listen to it and not question it too much, okay?’

Theo grinned, nodding happily now that Liam didn’t have a good comeback anymore. They both looked up though, pausing their conversation when Jenna walked in.

‘Hi,’ she said, with a smile. ‘Nicely listening to Christmas music, I hear? That certainly gets me into the Christmas spirit.’

‘Me too,’ Liam replied. ‘We were just making a playlist.’

Theo nodded, quietly, feeling a little more shy again now that Jenna had walked into the room. The truth, he was still getting to know her, still trying to see what she was like, and he didn’t really understand why she allowed him, a boy she barely knew, to live with her. He didn’t understand why anyone would let him live with them.  
So he still felt a bit shy around her, and David.

Jenna’s smile grew at what Liam told her, looking excited. ‘Make sure to include all the classics,’ she said brightly.

Liam grinned. ‘I’m working on it.’

‘Sounds good,’ Jenna replied, before turning around and walking back to the kitchen. ‘I’m gonna make tea, do you boys want some too?’

Liam nodded, and Theo, who had only just finished his hot chocolate, decided that he would actually like another warm drink.  
When Jenna walked back to the kitchen, he went back to his playlist making with Liam, which turned out to be a lot more fun than he originally thought. Liam made him listen to a ridiculous amount of songs, that Theo could admit he actually liked a little, even if it was only just to himself. After a while, though, he decided to play Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas again. Because out of all the Christmas songs he had listened to, and despite the things he had said about the song earlier, he could silently admit, to himself, that that one was his favorite.

*****

Theo tagged along when Jenna and Liam went to buy a Christmas tree.  
After they got in the car, it wasn’t too far to the place where Jenna usually bought her Christmas trees, and Theo sat in the back next to Liam. Soft Christmas music was playing in the background and next to him, Liam was humming along softly. Theo thought it sounded rather nice.  
When they pulled up in the parking lot, though, Theo was glad that they were there. He followed Jenna and Liam out of the car, until he was surrounded by Christmas trees. The place was quite big, he hadn’t expected that.

‘I think we should get one that’s a reasonable size,’ Jenna said, walking ahead of them with her hands in the pockets of her coat. ‘Not too big, not too small. What do you think?’

Liam nodded. ‘Sounds good!’

Theo wasn’t really sure what was considered a ‘big’ or a ‘small’ Christmas tree, but he followed Liam and Jenna, and decided to just follow their lead.

Then a guy in a red plaid coat, who was apparently the salesman, walked up to them, and said: ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

‘We’re just looking around a little,’ Jenna replied.

The guy nodded, telling Jenna that she could just come and ask him if she had found a tree, and Theo looked around, wondering how any of these trees would look nice in the house. Then the guy walked away again, leaving Jenna, Liam and him alone again. Jenna looked around for a little bit longer before she found a tree that she thought looked nice, and Liam agreed with her. He was a bit startled though, his thoughts interrupted, when Jenna suddenly turned to him.

‘Theo?’ she asked. ‘What do you think? This a good tree?’

The question startled him, he hadn’t expected it. He hadn’t expected to be included in the decision, like his opinion mattered to her. Even if it was only just about a Christmas tree.  
He glanced at Liam, who was looking back at him encouragingly, and a small smile appeared on his face. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Yeah, it looks good. I like it.’

Jenna nodded, and smiled at him. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Then I’m gonna pay, and we’ll take this thing home. Maybe after that we can make some more hot chocolate, how does that sound?’

Liam nodded eagerly, and Theo found himself agreeing with him. Hot chocolate always sounded good.  
Jenna smiled, gesturing for them to come with her then, and with the three of them they managed to get the tree in the car. Liam walked close to him, their shoulders almost brushing, and it made Theo smile.  
After Jenna had paid, and they’d gotten back in the car, Liam started humming along with the Christmas music again, almost like he didn’t know he was doing it. Every now and then, though, Liam nudged him softly, trying to get him to sing along too. Theo didn’t, but he liked it when Liam did, and he looked down at his lap with a soft blush on his cheeks every time he did.

‘Mom says we can decorate the Christmas tree,’ Liam announced, a little while after they’d arrived home.

Theo looked up from the book he was reading, raising his eyebrows. ‘We?’ he asked.

‘Yeah.’ Liam put down the box he was carrying, presumably with Christmas decorations, and nodded to the empty tree. ‘We can’t leave it like that.’

‘Eh,’ Theo muttered. ‘That sounds like a lot of work.’

Liam rolled his eyes at the comment. ‘Yeah, you lazy ass,’ he replied. ‘But it’s fun work.’ He pulled Theo up from the couch, despite his protests, and dragged him over to the tree. Theo sighed, but let Liam lead him over there anyway. After all, the last of the Christmas activities they had done together had turned out to be quite fun, he had to keep reminding himself, and maybe this would too.

‘Okay, let’s see,’ Liam mumbled, while opening the box with Christmas decorations. Theo waited behind him with his arms crossed, and watched as Liam pulled out a smaller box with red, silver and gold Christmas ornaments, some other ornaments like little Santa’s, snowmen and reindeer, red and gold tinsel, and an incessant string of lights. Theo’s eyes widened.

‘How many Christmas lights does one person need!?’

Liam chuckled, looking over his shoulder. ‘Mom says you can never have enough. Now, are you gonna help me, or are you gonna keep standing there?’

Theo sighed, but stepped closer anyway. He took one of the tinsels from Liam, but looked at him questioningly then, unsure of what to do with it.

‘You wrap it around the tree,’ Liam said helpfully, taking the gold tinsel and doing it himself. Theo stepped closer to the tree, following his lead. He noticed that, while decorating, they got in each other’s ways quite a few times, but after some time and effort, they’d managed to wrap both strings of tinsel around the tree.  
Then, Liam grabbed the endless string of lights, and the whole thing started all over again. It was a bit harder since the string was so long, and Theo accidentally wrapped Liam in it one time as well, but in the end, they managed it.

Liam sighed, looking at their work proudly. ‘That was the hardest part,’ he said. ‘Though the ornaments may take some time too.’

Theo looked towards the shiny ornaments that were still lying on the table. ‘How do you even hang those up anyway?’

‘Ah,’ Liam said brightly, walking over to the table again. ‘With these of course!’

He held up a little hook, and hang up one of the ornaments on a branch of the tree with it. Theo nodded, grabbing an ornament and a little hook himself and following Liam’s lead.

‘I can’t believe you seriously never decorated a Christmas tree,’ Liam mumbled, as they continued.

‘Yeah, well, like I said, the Dread Doctors never cared much for Christmas,’ Theo snapped, a little harsher than he meant. It just bothered him now, now that he was starting to see what he had missed out on all his life.

Liam just saw it for what it was though, and he didn’t snap back at him, just smiled reassuringly. ‘Well, you can now,’ he said.

Theo nodded, already feeling a weight had been lifted from his shoulders again, and he continued to hang up his ornaments, including a few little Santa’s or reindeer. With the two of them, they were finished sooner than he thought, and when they were, Theo had to admit that it looked nice. The tree certainly made the whole room brighter, more cheerful and colorful than he’d thought when they started.

‘Wow,’ Liam said next to him then. ‘This tree’s bigger than my future.’

Theo snorted, looking down at the younger boy beside him. ‘Man, you’re really right about that!’

‘Hey!’ Liam exclaimed, pushing Theo against his shoulder, but still with a smile on his face. Theo laughed. ‘You said it!’

‘Still!’ Liam chuckled, his eyes bright and looking more beautiful than usual all of a sudden. ‘Let’s just finish this and put the star on the tree, okay?’

‘Star? You mean it’s not done yet?’ Theo turned around as Liam walked back to the table, and got the star that was supposed to go on top of the tree out of the box with decorations. It quickly became clear, though, that there was no way they were gonna be able to put the star on top of the tree.

Liam looked up. ‘I can’t reach the top of the tree to put the star on it,’ he said disappointed.

Theo sighed. ‘Then don’t.’

Liam looked properly offended at that. ‘A tree needs a star, Theo!’

‘Well, do you want me to lift you up?’ Theo sighed, getting tired with Liam not thinking of the obvious solution.

Liam flushed. ‘N-No!’

‘Well then,’ Theo suggested. ‘Then you get a chair or something.’

With that, Liam managed to reach the top, but only just. He had to reach out to put the star on top of the tree, and even then, Theo had to hold on to the chair to make sure he didn’t fall over. Eventually, though, Liam luckily ended up safely standing on the floor again, and Theo couldn’t deny that the star definitely added it’s own charm to the tree.  
Liam looked proud towards their work too.

‘Should we take a picture?’ he asked quietly, looking up at Theo.

Theo smiled. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Why not.’

Liam grinned, taking his phone out of his pocket, and coming to stand next to Theo in front of the tree, their shoulders almost brushing. Theo put his hands in his pockets, and waited until Liam had pointed the camera at them.

He didn’t plan to smile, instead planned to stick his tongue out or something else that he was sure Liam would say ‘ruined the picture’, but he couldn’t help it. He smiled.  
And when Liam showed him the picture, he thought it looked nice. It was just them in front of the colorful Christmas tree, and it looked nice.

*****

‘Have you ever seen a Christmas movie?’ Liam asked, a couple of days later.

Theo had to admit that he hadn’t, even though he could name a few, and it wasn’t very hard to guess what their next Christmas activity was.  
Liam held up a few movies, and Theo recognized titles like Home Alone, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf, and even Love Actually.  
Theo found himself actually looking forward to it. The past couple of days, the last Christmas activities they’d done together, had been fun, and Theo had started to like doing those things with Liam. He had started to see why people thought Christmas was fun, even if he wasn’t really feeling it yet.

‘Are we gonna watch all of those?’ he asked.

Liam shrugged. ‘I figured we could just start with one, and see how we feel after that.’

Theo nodded. He thought that sounded good too.

‘So which one do you want to watch?’ Liam asked then.

Theo gestured for him to come closer, so he could have a look at the movies. He only read the backs of a few DVD’s, before deciding that he wanted to watch The Grinch, and tossing Love Actually aside on the couch. ‘That one definitely sounds way too cheesy.’

‘You know, it’s actually not that bad,’ Liam said. ‘But we can always watch it and make fun of it, if you’d prefer that.’

Theo grinned. Making fun of things was definitely something he liked, especially if that thing was Liam. ‘Maybe later,’ he chuckled. ‘Let’s start with this one for now.’

He held out The Grinch to Liam, who nodded. ‘Good choice,’ he said, as he started the movie up and fell back down on the couch next to Theo to watch it.  
Pretty early on in the movie, Theo found out that he liked this movie. Really liked it. He also found out that he could relate to the Grinch, which earned him a strange look from Liam when he told him that. Theo chuckled, directing his attention towards the movie again.  
Halfway through, though, he suddenly noticed something.  
Liam had shifted closer to him on the couch, there was less distance between them, and Theo could feel their legs brushing together every now and then. He could feel Liam’s body warmth.  
And then Liam moved again.

‘What are you doing!?’ Theo snapped.

Liam jumped, pausing the movie and looking up. ‘What?’

‘That!’ Theo pointed towards themselves. ‘Why are you sitting so close to me?’

Liam frowned, seemingly only now noticing that he had moved closer to Theo. His face was a little red, but he mumbled something that sounded like ‘sorry’, before moving aside again. Immediately, Theo realized that he may have made a mistake. He missed Liam being close to him already. And maybe he had approached the subject the wrong way.

‘I didn’t… Mean that it was a bad thing,’ he muttered, fumbling with his hands and staring down at his lap with heated cheeks.

Liam looked at him with wide eyes, the corner of his mouth slightly turned upwards. ‘Really?’

Theo just nodded, and Liam smiled, moving closer to him again. He turned the movie back on, and with a small smile on his face, Theo continued to watch. He felt a bit brave though, and he decided to take the last step and wrap his arm around Liam and pull him closer until they were pressed together on the couch. Liam didn’t react to it too much and like that they watched the movie, the only proof that Liam liked being cuddled up against Theo being the smile on his face and his cheeks that were a little more red than usual.

It turned out to be exactly as Theo had thought: Love Actually was cheesy. Not really the movie he would have chosen himself, he had watched, and cringed, as the couples in the movie got together awkwardly, like the Prime-Minister, although he had to admit that the movie definitely had his moments as well. Like the acting couple who had no trouble getting together in front of the camera, but were incredibly awkward together off-screen. Or the guy who went to America, claiming that he could do better with girls there.

All in all though, Liam had been right too, and making fun of the movie was definitely too much fun. ‘You were right,’ Theo sighed, chuckling as leaned against the back of the couch. ‘That was cheesy.’

‘I heard you laughing plenty of times though,’ Liam pointed out with a smirk.

‘Well it’s not my fault that John and Judy couple was so weird,’ Theo snapped. ‘And if I danced through the house like the Prime-Minister, you would laugh too!’

He slid down the back of the couch until he almost lay down, and Liam looked down at him with a grin. ‘Yeah, obviously,’ he smirked. ‘Because that would be funny as hell.’

‘It was still cheesy,’ Theo mumbled. ‘Although I did like Billy Mack.’

‘Me too,’ Liam grinned.

Theo looked up at him. ‘Can we now never watch it again, though? I think that level of sappiness might actually kill me.’

Liam shook his head, looking down at him. ‘God, you’re such a Scrooge.’

In a quick moment, Theo sat up again. ‘What does that mean!? What the hell is a Scrooge!?’

Liam’s eyes widened. ‘You did not just say that!’ he exclaimed, actually sounded a little offended. He jumped up, switching the movie from Love Actually to another one. ‘We are watching A Christmas Carol right now!’

Theo stayed silent, feeling like he couldn’t really talk Liam out of it anyway. The boy was as stubborn as… Well, as himself, to be honest.  
During the movie though, Theo started to see what the ‘Christmas spirit’ usually meant for other people, and being with family around the holidays was one of those. The realization brought tears to his eyes, because he knew he’d never have that.  
It slowly became clearer and clearer what he had missed out on all his life.

He tried to wipe them away, but Liam saw them anyway of course, and he paused the movie. ‘What’s wrong?’

Theo shrugged, and Liam sighed softly, turning to him. ‘T, if someone like Scrooge can get a happy Christmas in the end, then you sure as hell can too.’

Theo looked up at him, his eyebrows raised, and sniffled. ‘Did you just compare me with Scrooge?’ he asked, feigning offense.

‘Pff, no,’ Liam chuckled. ‘You’re better than him anyway.’

‘No, I’m not,’ Theo muttered, staring down at his lap. ‘Even if I deserved a nice Christmas, who would even want to celebrate it with me?’

Liam shook his head. ‘You’re a complete dumbass, you know that?’

Theo’s head snapped up. ‘What!?’ He suddenly felt angry, clenching his fists at Liam’s comment. He should’ve known the younger boy wouldn’t take him seriously, it…

‘Look around you,’ Liam interrupted his thoughts. ‘We’re celebrating Christmas, and you’re here too. My mom loves to have you. Of course we’re gonna include you for Christmas, you idiot, this is your place to spend the holidays now. Did you honestly not see that?’

Theo was speechless. He hadn’t even thought about it that way, not for one second. With heated cheeks, he looked down at his lap. ‘I didn’t… Think you guys would want me,’ he muttered, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

Liam sighed, softly and understanding. ‘Of course we want you,’ he said. ‘I was kinda hoping we made that clear already.’

Theo looked up slowly, looking around the living room from the Christmas tree to the Christmas wreath that Jenna had hung up by the window, to A Christmas Carol that was currently paused on the TV.  
He really did belong here.  
The realization made a warm feeling fill his chest, because he was wrong. He did have a place to spend Christmas, and he could spend it here, with Liam and his parents who really did try their best to make him feel included. Maybe if they believed he deserved it, he could too, eventually.

‘That’s better,’ Liam said, seeing the way the look on Theo’s face had changed.

Theo gave him a small smile, and Liam nodded. ‘Do you want to continue the movie?’ he asked, but still keeping his options open in case he wanted to do something else.

Theo nodded. ‘Yeah, please,’ he mumbled. Words, he was good at, and talking. He had always learned exactly what to say to make things go his way. But not when it was about… Feelings.

‘Okay.’ Liam unpaused the movie, and just like before, he leaned against Theo. He wrapped his arm around Liam again, smiling at the sudden progress, and they finished the movie like that.

*****

‘I printed the recipe out, just in case,’ Liam said.

Theo leaned against the kitchen counter, smirking as he watched Liam grab some of the things they would need already. ‘How old-fashioned,’ he said.

Liam gave him an unimpressed look. ‘Shut up.’ He put the Christmas shaped cookie baking tins he already found on the counter, and Theo took a look at them. He saw cookie tins in the shape of a reindeer, a snowman, a Christmas tree, and even a little Santa, and he thought they looked pretty cute. That would surely make some nice cookies.

‘Okay, right, what do we need?’ Liam mumbled, walking around the kitchen to get all the ingredients as Theo took a look at the recipe.  
It honestly didn’t look too hard. Surely they could manage to get that done?

‘Flour, powdered sugar, butter, okay, I think we have everything now,’ Liam muttered, before he looked up. ‘Now, my mom trusts us with this, so I want to make the best cookies possible!’

Theo nodded, although he couldn’t help but feel like that statement wasn’t really going to work out.  
And it quickly became clear, too, that he was right.

‘Theo, you were supposed to add two and a half cups of flour!’ Liam exclaimed. ‘Not one and a half.’

‘Fine,’ Theo snapped. ‘Then we add some more.’ He grabbed the bag of flour from the counter, turning it around above the bowl and trying to only shake out a little bit, although he felt like he shouldn’t be surprised when the entire contents of the bag were dumped in and around the bowl.

Liam glared at him. ‘That’s too much,’ he said, like it wasn’t obvious. ‘And now you’ve made a mess. Well done.’

‘We can clean that up later,’ Theo sighed, exasperated. ‘Let’s just finish the dough first.’

Liam sighed, but did what he said anyway. According to the recipe they were supposed to add one teaspoon of vanilla and a small teaspoon of almond extract, but actually doing that, appeared to be harder than they thought. Liam spilled quite a few drops of vanilla on the kitchen counter as he tried to move the spoon to the bowl.  
Theo helpfully moved the bowl closer.  
The rest of the ingredients didn’t go as smooth either, and they dropped at least a little bit of all the ingredients that were supposed to go in the bowl on the counter due to their constant bickering about how much they should use.  
As it turned out though, rolling out the dough was the hardest thing. Theo still had trouble telling what amount of flour was too much, and soon, most of the kitchen counter was covered in the stuff. Liam managed to get it done though, even if he had flour all over his shirt by the time he was done. Theo giggled, thinking that it looked funny, but it only made Liam throw a handful off the stuff at him in return. He was pretty sure there was something on his face as well.  
Eventually though, they managed to cut the cookie dough out with the cookie tins, and put the cookies in the oven.

Liam stared at the mess, sighing. ‘We’ve gotta clean that up,’ he said.

‘You still want to decorate the cookies, though, right?’ Theo asked.

Theo nodded towards the kitchen. ‘Maybe it’s better if we do that first. That way we can clean everything up at once.’

Liam hesitated, but then he sighed. ‘Yeah,’ he nodded. ‘Let’s do that. We can just wait until the cookies are finished.’

They walked to the living room, and sat down at the table across from each other. Liam looked a little tired, but satisfied. ‘I’m so glad we managed to get the cookies in the oven,’ he said, rubbing his temples.

Theo smirked. ‘Decorating will be the fun part,’ he said. He couldn’t wait to start using the frosting.

Liam smiled faintly, but the serious look returned to his face soon enough. ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘There’s something I want to ask you.’

The look on his face was enough to make Theo worry, and he stared at the younger boy, waiting until he continued.

‘Some of the older Pack is coming back to Beacon Hills for the holidays,’ Liam said. ‘Scott, Lydia, Malia and Stiles. I spoke with Scott, and we planned to go ice skating tomorrow with everyone. But I would like it if you came with us too.’

Theo blinked, unable to concentrate on Liam’s words for a bit, as if he spoke too fast. ‘Wait, what?’ he asked.

‘I was hoping you wanted to come ice skating with us tomorrow,’ Liam repeated, quietly.

Theo didn’t have to think about that for very long, as the feeling of anxiety suddenly grew worse. He could already imagine the distrustful, hateful looks that everyone, especially Stiles, would send his way. If this was really supposed to be a Pack activity, he couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever want him there too.

‘No,’ was his answer then, too.

‘Please?’ Liam asked quietly. ‘I would really like it if you were there.’

Theo frowned. ‘Why? Why would you even like that?’

Liam looked hurt at that, hurt that he even asked that question. ‘Because you’re part of the Pack now too, Theo.’

‘No, I’m not. I can see the way they still don’t trust me.’

‘I trust you,’ Liam said. ‘And… And Mason, Corey and Nolan do too.’

Theo stayed silent for a moment, thinking over Liam’s words and noticing how they made him feel a little more hopeful, like things weren’t as hopeless as he thought.

‘Really?’ he asked then, quietly, and Liam nodded fiercely.

Theo sighed then, hesitating, but only for a moment. Because it wasn’t really any question that he would come with Liam to the ice rink, no matter how much he complained about it. He couldn’t say no to him, as he had concluded a while ago already.

‘Yes, fine,’ he sighed. ‘I’ll come with you.’

Liam’s face lit up at that, his eyes shining bright, and as a warm feeling filled Theo’s chest, he knew he had made the right decision. When he was with Liam, he felt like facing the other Pack members wasn’t so scary anymore.

Eventually, the cookies had cooled down, and even though they had to wait a little for that, it was definitely worth the wait. Liam smiled as he looked at them, and he already had his frosting ready.

‘Can you just put it on the cookies like this?’ Theo asked, and Liam looked up.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Like, if you decorate the Christmas tree for example, just make it green. Do what you like.’

Theo nodded, grinning, because he actually had some ideas that he liked.

They worked in silence, next to each other, but it was a comfortable silence. Every now and then they reached across the counter for some frosting, interrupting each other’s work, but given the faint blush on Liam’s cheeks, Theo didn’t think he actually minded. Besides, he was pretty sure that he was blushing himself a little, too.  
It wasn’t until Theo made a wrong move with his frosting and accidentally got something on Liam’s hand, that they started talking again.

‘Making a mess again, I see,’ Liam joked.

‘Hey, I was just doing my work here very seriously,’ Theo said with feigned innocence. ‘It was your hand that got in the way.’

Liam chuckled. ‘Well, how’s this then?’ he giggled, while smearing some frosting on Theo’s hand in return.

‘Fine,’ Theo said, unphased. ‘I can just do this.’ With a wicked grin on his face, he wiped his hand on Liam’s shirt, so that the frosting was on there now too. Liam stared down at his shirt, unimpressed, before he did the same to Theo and wiped his hand on his shirt. ‘There!’ he said, beaming.

Theo frowned, making Liam only laugh harder, but it was then that the sound of the front door that opened filled the house, and Liam tensed.

‘She wasn’t supposed to be back yet!’ he exclaimed, taking a panicked look at the mess they’d made. There was still flour, and frosting, all over the counter, as well as some small drops of vanilla and almond extract. And they were standing together in the middle of it all.

‘Boys!’ Jenna called, walking to the kitchen. ‘I’m home…!’ She paused as she took in the state of her kitchen. ‘What on earth happened here?’

‘Eh…’ Liam replied dumbly. ‘You said we could make cookies.’

Jenna raised her eyebrows, tossing her bag and her coat aside on one of the kitchen chairs. ‘Yeah. I also said that you should try to do it without destroying the kitchen.’

It remained silent, and Jenna’s gaze softened. ‘I’ll tell you what,’ she sighed. ‘You clean up the kitchen, and then I’ll find a nice plate or something to put the cookies on. That’ll look nice by the tea tonight.’

Theo looked up. ‘Are you not mad?’ he asked quietly.

‘Mad?’ Jenna asked, sympathetic. ‘Why would I be mad? You only made some cookies, and I remember from when I was young, that it can get a little out of hand sometimes. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.’  
Theo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, feeling the relief washing over him. He really didn’t want to ruin anything, not now that he had a roof over his head, and a room of his own, food every day, and an actual house to live in instead of his truck.  
He didn’t want to lose that.

Jenna smiled. ‘It’s only cookies,’ she said, while grabbing her coat and her bag. ‘And they actually look pretty delicious. I can’t wait to taste one.’ Then she walked out of the kitchen, back to the hallway to hang up her coat.

Theo took a look at the cookies. ‘You know,’ he said. ‘They actually do look pretty good.’

Liam rolled his eyes, chuckling. ‘It’s just like you to compliment yourself on something you made.’

Theo chuckled. ‘Something we made,’ he corrected him quietly, not really sure if he wanted Liam to hear him, even though he knew he would anyway.

Liam looked up at with a smile. ‘Yeah, we,’ he said. ‘Although I think you’re actually right and it’s kind of a miracle that we didn’t fail.’

Theo chuckled, grabbing a dishcloth out of the kitchen cupboard. Together, they cleaned in silence, and fixed the mess that they’d made of the kitchen.

*****

The ride to the ice rink was fairly short. Theo was riding along in the car with Liam, while Mason, Corey and Nolan were sitting in the back. The jeep with Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia was driving in front of them.  
Soft Christmas music was playing in the background again, just like when they went to buy a Christmas tree, and Liam was singing along softly again. He followed the jeep to the ice rink, parking the car in the parking spot next to it.  
When Theo got out of the car, he made sure to stand to the back a little, where his presence wouldn’t bother the older Pack members as much.  
He was only here for Liam anyway.  
When everyone had gotten out of the car and they’d gathered together as a group, they walked inside together. Theo followed after the rest of them, watching as Liam walked a few steps ahead of him, laughing with his friends. It made his chest hurt a bit, as he wished for the same. Maybe someday he could.  
He followed the group inside, walking over the side of the ice rink and watching as some of the Pack members walked to the counter where you could rent some skates. Theo was lucky enough to have his own, as David had given him an old pair that he didn’t fit anymore.  
Liam fell down on the bench beside him, already putting on his own pair of skates as Theo did the same.

‘Are you okay?’ Liam asked. ‘Cause I know that coming here wasn’t exactly your idea of fun, but…’

‘I’m fine,’ Theo interrupted him, looking up and forcing a smile. He was just a bit nervous to be here with the Pack members he all stabbed in the back to get what he wanted.

Liam nodded slowly, and looked up to where the Pack was already on the ice. ‘Just try not too think about it for today,’ he said. ‘You can always come and hang out with me and Mason and Corey and Nolan, if you prefer that.’

They stood up, and Theo watched as Liam managed to get to the ice in a clumsy manner, which looked a little funny and put a smile on Theo’s face.

Liam looked over his shoulder. ‘You coming?’ he asked him.

Theo nodded, managing to get to the ice in a way that was a lot more skillful than Liam had just done, and put his foot on the ice. Liam did the same, getting on the ice clumsily, and Theo had to grab his shoulders to make sure he didn’t fall.  
Then, they got ready to skate over to Liam’s friends, but it quickly became clear that Liam wasn’t actually good at skating.

‘Jesus, Liam, how many times have you done this?’ Theo exclaimed. ‘Why didn’t you mention that you were so bad at this!?’

‘I didn’t want to spoil the fun!’ Liam replied. ‘And I’m not that bad.’ He tried to take another step forward, but then he stumbled. And Theo’s hands were right there, on his shoulders, to make sure he stayed upright.

With a faint blush on his cheeks, Liam looked up. ‘Thanks.’

‘No problem,’ Theo replied, although his heart was beating a little faster than normal, and he could only hope that Liam didn’t hear it.  
They got on the ice a little further from the side after that, after Liam had finally let go of the edge of the rink, and Theo stayed by his side as they skated over to Mason, Corey and Nolan, to make sure he didn’t fall. Their hands brushed together from time to time, and Theo certainly felt better than when they’d arrived.

‘There you are!’ Mason called, as Theo and Liam joined their little group. ‘About time.’

Theo grinned, looking at Liam. ‘There was a… complication.’

‘Hey!’ Liam yelled, giving Theo a little push against his shoulder. Theo just grinned, and Mason, Corey and Nolan looked at them curiously.

‘Should we just take a few rounds around the rink?’ Corey asked then, before the rest of the group agreed with that. They took off, Liam staying behind a little and Theo staying by his side to catch him if he were to stumble. He could go faster, take a few faster rounds, but ice skating with Liam was more fun anyway. Their hands brushed together every now and then, and even though Mason, Corey and Nolan had skated ahead and disappeared out of sight, they took a few rounds of their own. It was a bit slower than Theo would have liked, but he had fun anyway, and he felt relaxed.  
And that’s when he noticed Stiles glaring at him.  
Theo froze, and Liam noticed the change in his demeanor immediately. He looked up, following Theo’s gaze and staring at Stiles.

‘What the hell is going on with the two of you?’ Stiles asked, with narrowed eyes.

Liam pulled his hand back so that it wasn’t brushing against Theo’s anymore, and Theo wasn’t sure if he felt disappointed or thankful for that.

‘What makes you think anything is going on?’ he snapped.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘There’s something different with you.’ He looked over his shoulder, searching the ice until he had spotted his best friend and calling him over. ‘Scott!’

It didn’t take long until the Alpha had joined them, gliding over the ice skillfully. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

Stiles crossed his arms. ‘Your beta,’ he replied. ‘He’s acting different.’

Scott raised his eyebrows, looking from Theo and Liam back to Stiles. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Scott,’ Stiles sighed. ‘Has it never occurred to you that there may be something more between these two than… friendship? Which, in my opinion, is already more than they should have anyway.’

‘Wait, what?’ Scott asked, looking at Theo and Liam. ‘Is that true?’

‘No, that’s not true!’ Liam said loudly, deciding that he’d had enough of it. ‘There’s nothing going on between us, Theo and I are just friends. And to just make things clear: that’s working out perfectly for us. You can’t decide for us what we should or shouldn’t do!’

Theo looked at him in admiration, almost feeling a little proud of him for standing up to Scott and Stiles. He knew how Liam usually looked up to Scott.

‘I can be friends with whoever I want,’ Liam said. ‘So we’re just… gonna skate now. That’s what we’re here for.’

He grabbed Theo’s wrist, skating away over the ice awkwardly, which kind of ruined the dramatic exit he was trying to make. Scott and Stiles stared after them, both of them with a perplexed look on their face.  
Theo chuckled, and Liam looked up at him. Looking a little unsure, he switched from holding Theo’s wrist to holding his hand, and laced their fingers together. Theo’s heart skipped a beat at the gesture and he felt a little warmer all of a sudden, but this time, he didn’t really care whether Liam noticed it or not.

‘You know that holding my hand is kind of contradictory with what you just said, about us just being friends, right?’ he asked with a smile, even though his own comment made his heart beat a little faster.

‘I don’t care,’ Liam replied stubbornly. ‘I need it so I don’t fall.’

Theo chuckled and shook his head, because judging by the faint blush on Liam’s cheeks, that wasn’t the only reason.

After a while, Liam’s feet had started to hurt a little from skating too much, even if he got better at it, and he retreated to the side for a break and a hot chocolate. Theo stood on the ice alone, sometimes skating with Nolan, Mason and Corey, but he decided to use the time alone to take a few rounds around the rink himself. He went a little faster this time, enjoying the speed and thought that, maybe, he should go ice skating more often.  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Malia, Scott, Lydia and Stiles having fun together, and even though it still felt painful, he ignored it for now. Skating faster felt good, worked as a bit of a distraction for him so he didn’t have to think about anything for a few minutes, and he decided to just focus on that for a bit.  
After a while though, he slowed down again, and Liam joined him on the ice again after hanging out with his friends for a bit, with an admiring look in his eyes.

‘That was good!’ he said. ‘You’re really good at this! Why didn’t you tell me? Because, then, I wouldn’t have minded if you took a few rounds on your own earlier as well. I would have been fine on my own for a bit as well, you know. You didn’t have to hang around me.’

‘Yes, I did,’ Theo replied with a grin, as they skated towards the rest of the Pack, where they’d agreed to wait for everyone and get off the ice again as a group. ‘Or you would’ve fallen and hurt yourself.’

Liam flushed. ‘Not true,’ he mumbled.

Theo smiled, looking at him. ‘Liam, I didn’t mind.’

A small smile appeared on Liam’s face as he looked up at him and he nodded, remaining silent. They waited with the Pack until everyone was there before they got off the ice, waited for the people who had rented skates to return them, and got back to the car.  
Theo got in on the passenger’s seat next to Liam again, before they followed the jeep to Scott’s house where they’d agreed to get some hot chocolate. Theo remained a little quiet, because even though Stiles hadn’t really said much to him since Liam yelled at him, he could tell that he still wasn’t happy with the way things had worked out.  
Inside, Theo sat down at the table with Nolan for a bit, because he felt like Nolan was one of the easiest people to talk to then. They both hadn’t been exactly popular with the Pack at one point, even though for Theo, that wasn’t over yet.  
Eventually though, Mason, Corey and Liam came to sit with them too, while the older Pack was hanging around on the couch for a bit while watching a movie. Theo relaxed a bit, enjoying his hot chocolate, which he loved anyway, and talking and laughing with the younger boys.

‘You know what we should do!?’ Malia called then all of a sudden, pausing the movie and sitting up, freeing herself out of Scott’s arms. ‘An ugly Christmas sweater contest!’

‘Yes!’ Stiles yelled immediately, sounding excited.

‘I still have a very ugly one at home, you wouldn’t believe,’ Mason laughed.

A wave of excited reactions erupted then, everyone talking over each other excitedly and loudly, but Theo froze.  
An ugly Christmas sweater contest? How on earth was he ever gonna participate in that?  
He didn’t have a Christmas sweater, wasn’t even sure he liked them. And then he wasn’t even mentioning the fact that he wasn’t even sure he’d be invited yet.

‘Don’t worry,’ Liam said next to him quietly, making sure no one else would here him. ‘You can borrow one of mine,’ as he had apparently noticed Theo’s concern.

‘Wait, one of them?’ he asked then, leaning a little closer to Liam. ‘How many do you have!?’

‘Eh, two,’ Liam replied awkwardly. ‘But I’m sure one of them will fit you.’

Theo felt a little unsure about that, but he didn’t comment on it. Then his thoughts were interrupted by Lydia, who asked: ‘What prize do we get?’

Malia turned around, staring down at her friend. ‘Prize?’

‘Yeah,’ Lydia said, with raised eyebrows. ‘The winner should get a prize.’

‘Eh…’ Malia remained silent, thinking about it for a while. ‘The winner… gets a free bag of chocolate Christmas cookies!’

It remained silent in the room, before Stiles spoke up again. ‘That’s the prize?’ he asked, sounding disappointed. ‘That’s a lousy prize.’

Malia sighed, hitting Stiles’ head with a pillow.

‘I would do it,’ Mason said casually, before the soft sound of all the Pack members mumbling in agreement sounded through the room.

Malia smiled. ‘Okay. Chocolate Christmas cookies it is then. I’ll buy a bag later.’

Lydia nodded, and Malia fell back down on the couch again, leaning against Scott. Their movie continued and Corey, Mason, Nolan and Liam turned back to their conversation.  
Theo remained a little silent though, feeling like he couldn’t really enjoy it anymore. Never in his whole life, had he dreaded something so much.

*****

‘Okay, so I have this one, and this one,’ Liam said, holding up his two Christmas sweaters for Theo.

Theo was sitting on Liam’s bed, his head resting in his hand. ‘I don’t know,’ he mumbled. ‘Show me the first one again.’

Liam sighed, throwing the sweater at Theo’s head, although he still had a small smile on his face. ‘Theo!’ he called. ‘Now is not the time for jokes!’

Theo smirked. ‘Then why are you laughing?’

Liam sighed deeply, holding the sweaters up again. ‘Just pick one.’

Theo straightened his back, taking a better look at the sweaters. One of them was plain red, with little candy canes all over it. The other was red, but with little snowflakes on them, and the words ‘Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal’, as a reference to the Home Alone movie they had watched together. Theo had to admit that that one was kinda nice, but they both still weren’t wrong and ugly enough.  
And then he got an idea.  
Hurriedly, he stood up and walked to the door, turning around when Liam asked where he was going.

‘You don’t have to wait for me,’ he said. ‘I, uh, have to do something.’

‘What…?’ Liam started, but Theo interrupted him. ‘I’ll be back later,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to wait for me.’

‘Okay…’ Liam mumbled, sounding confused, and Theo walked out of the room. He knew what to do. And this was certainly one of the best ideas he had ever had.

*****

The party had already started when Theo arrived at Scott’s house. He could hear the music coming from inside, and could see that all of the other Pack members were already there.  
Theo looked down at his sweater with a proud grin, before he walked up to the house and went inside.  
The others were in the living room, laughing with each other or humming along to the music, and eating candy and snacks. They had a good time.  
All the laughing and talking stopped, though, when Theo walked in. And they all stared at him.

‘How’s everyone doing today?’ he asked wickedly, with a grin on his face. ‘Okay?’

Malia coughed, hiding behind her drink. And then Nolan raised his eyebrows, stepping forward a little bit. ‘Theo,’ he asked. ‘What the hell are you wearing?’

‘A Christmas sweater,’ Theo grinned, with feigned innocence. ‘Was that not the point of this whole thing?’

‘No, no,’ Liam said, stepping forward next to Nolan. ‘I think he means: what the hell are you actually wearing?’

Theo grinned, looking down at his sweater. It was green, with a reindeer on it, but that wasn’t even the best part. There were all kinds of actual Christmas lights and tinsel on it too, wrapped around the antlers of the reindeer a little bit, and around the neck like it was supposed to be kind of a scarf. And there were actual ornaments on it too, hanging from the antlers and the ears of the reindeer, and on the left and right side of the reindeer, on the sweater.  
It was the best thing ever.

‘Oh, man,’ Stiles said then. ‘This party has barely even started, and he has already won the contest.’ He pointed towards Theo, sounding thoroughly unhappy about it.

‘Of course he has,’ Liam said defensively. ‘It’s the best sweater here! I love it.’

Theo felt a warm feeling filling his chest when Liam defended him, and he grinned, walking over to the table with food and drinks and taking a cookie. He thought that the other sweaters weren’t actually all that bad, although he wasn’t sure they could be referred to as ‘ugly.’  
Except for Stiles’ one maybe.  
Malia was wearing a blue sweater, with little polar bears on it. Scott’s sweater was more subtle, a bit like Theo’s, but red with a reindeer on the front and no lights, tinsel or ornaments. Lydia had a green with just the words ‘Merry Christmas’ on the front, and Stiles was wearing a sweater with what appeared to be a drunk Santa and the words ‘Merry Christmas, happy new beer.’  
Liam was just wearing the sweater with ‘Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal’ that he had shown Theo the night before, and Theo thought that that was the best looking one. It looked nice on him.

‘I have to say though,’ Mason said then as he was standing next to the table with food, ‘That that sweater is the most obnoxious thing I have ever seen in my entire life.’

Theo burst out laughing, relaxing a bit. ‘Well, that’s what we’re doing it for, right?’

He turned around, only to find Stiles still staring at him, frowning. The, though, he nodded. ‘It’s a good sweater,’ he said, even though it felt still a bit tense between them. ‘You’re a… worthy opponent.’

‘Thanks,’ Theo managed, still feeling a bit tense himself.

Stiles nodded, and turned back to Scott. Theo sighed, deciding to focus on something else than that tense conversation, and took a cookie and a cup of hot chocolate from the table. With that, he sat down on the couch between Liam and Nolan, staying a little quiet and mostly listening to the conversation of the others instead of talking.  
The rest of the party went pretty well, Theo thought, and Scott and the Pack talked to him a little bit more now. It was still clear, though, that he would never really be a part of the Pack, and that still hurt.  
When the night was over, Lydia congratulated him on winning the sweater contest, and gave him his bag of chocolate cookies. Theo thanked her, already knowing that he was probably gonna share those cookies with Liam.  
Then he and Liam left, Theo driving them home since it appeared that Liam had had just a little too much eggnog laced with wolfsbane. Soft Christmas music was playing in the car, and Liam glanced at Theo.

‘Mason was right, you know,’ he said. ‘That really is the most obnoxious sweater ever.’

Theo chuckled. ‘I’m gonna take that as a compliment.’

‘I love it,’ Liam continued. ‘Can I wear it too?’

Theo chuckled, glancing in Liam’s direction for a moment. ‘Sure,’ he said.

*****

‘Hey,’ Liam said, later that night as Theo was sitting on his bed, standing in the doorway. Theo looked up from the book he was reading, looking up at Liam and seeing the way his eyes seemed even more blue than usual.

‘Hey.’

‘I, uh, just wanted to say that, I thought it was awesome you came to the contest today,’ Liam said, slowly walking into the room.

Theo nodded, because he had actually had a good time there, and put his book down. Liam sat down on the bed, smiling, and Theo swallowed. He knew his feelings for Liam had grown lately, and they fought less now, but why on earth would Liam ever feel the same way? For him?

‘Yeah, well,’ he said, focusing on something else. ‘They still don’t want me in the Pack. And that’s still painful.’

‘You have a pack, Theo!’ Liam said.

Theo raised his eyebrows. ‘Oh yeah? What pack is that?’

‘Okay, so you know how I’m kind of the substitute Alpha when Scott isn’t around?’ Liam asked rapidly. ‘That’s my pack. You’re in my pack, with Corey and Mason and Nolan.’

Theo chuckled. ‘Yeah, right,’ he mumbled. ‘Substitute Alpha? And why would you even want me in your pack?’

Liam seemed personally offended at that. ‘That’s not fair, Theo. You're my friend,’ he said. ‘We help each other. And… You saved me.’

Theo stared at him with wide eyes, wondering if he was serious.

‘So, yeah, I know it’s not really real, but I wanted you to know that you do have a pack,’ Liam said.

Theo frowned then, suddenly wondering if Liam even really knew what he was saying. Because it was about a pack, which was a big deal where the members were supposed to trust each other, and Theo just didn’t understand why Liam would ever want someone like him in his pack.  
Theo chuckled, but it was an empty sound that didn’t sound happy. ‘Okay,’ he said, hiding the fact that it hurt a little that Liam was obviously a little drunk on too much eggnog with wolfsbane, acting like his worries and insecurities were nothing, like they weren’t real and could be fixed so easily if he just became a part of Liam’s so called ‘substitute pack’. If he could, Theo would have done it by now.

Liam just smiled though. ‘Okay, good,’ he said, leaning back against the wall by Theo’s bed.

‘Hey!’ he said then, almost like an afterthought. ‘You know what I found out, though?’ He got a twig of mistletoe from behind his back, turning it around in his hands before throwing it at Theo, effectively hitting him in the stomach with it. ‘My mom hang it up by the front door.’

‘What the hell, Liam!’ Theo said loudly, throwing the mistletoe back on the bed. ‘Don’t throw that at me!’

He didn’t like it that Liam was acting like this, like Theo’s feelings were nothing, even if he probably had no idea about Theo’s crush on him. It hurt.

‘What?’ Liam asked innocently. ‘Do you not know what people usually do with mistletoe?’

That was it for Theo. ‘Fuck you, Liam!’ he yelled, standing up from the bed as he could already feel his claws coming out and his eyes glowing in anger.

‘What the hell is wrong with you anyway!? You just come walking in here, telling me that I’m a part of your pack, which by the way, doesn’t even exist! You know how important that is to me, and you’re just making a joke out of it! Why would you even want me in it anyway!? And then you throw the stupid mistletoe at me, asking that stupid question, like you have no idea what it implies and you have no idea how I feel!’

Liam stared at him with his mouth open from where he was sitting on the bed, getting ready to say something, but Theo wasn’t done yet.

‘Why are you doing this anyway!?’ he asked loudly, breathing heavily as he had trouble controlling his wolf and coyote anymore. ‘Why are you so determined to include me in your stupid pack? Because you know it’s important to me, and you act like it’s not even anything serious with how simple you make it sound! It’s not simple. And why on earth is it so fucking important to you that I see ‘how much fun’ Christmas can be!?’ he said in a mocking voice. ‘Is this some kind of game to you or something? Are you having fun!?’

‘No!’ Liam yelled back, standing up from the bed as well and replying before Theo got a chance to continue screaming again. ‘It’s not a game, Theo! Who do you think I am!? You know I would never do that to you! I do have a pack, and I do want you to be a part of it, because we help each other like I said. It is simple, even if you’re too scared to see it!’

His claws were out then and his eyes glowed, and he growled as he already had trouble controlling his anger.

‘And I want to show you how much fun Christmas can be, how important that is to me, because you’re important to me! I want you to have a good Christmas!’

He fell silent, catching his breath and managing to calm down a little again. Theo stared at him with his mouth wide open, a few small tears burning in his eyes. They could both feel the tension in the room from the fight, and as they realized what Liam had just said.

He blinked, his claws gone again already and his eyes back to normal, and he looked away from Theo’s eyes and stared down at the floor with heated cheeks. ‘Excuse me,’ he mumbled, clearing his throat as he walked towards the door, and walked out of the door. Theo stared after him, speechless, with the tears still in his eyes.

*****

Theo didn’t sleep well that night. All he could think about was his fight with Liam, how he said stupid things that he shouldn’t have said, because Liam was good, and he would never, ever turn this into a game. Theo didn’t know what he was thinking, except that he may have just ruined his friendship with Liam, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do. He would much rather just have Liam in his life as his friend, than risk trying something more and ruining it, resulting in losing Liam all-together.  
Although, ironic enough, wasn’t that exactly what’d happened?

The nightmares also seemed to be worse than usual that night, with Tara clawing at his chest, and clawing, and ripping his heart out, taking back what’s hers. Theo woke up in the morning with tears in his eyes, after barely three hours of sleep. He had never felt so exhausted.

Slowly, feeling like a zombie, he sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed and staring up at the window, lost in his thoughts.  
He didn’t know what had come over him last night. Liam told him that he wanted him to be part of his makeshift pack, and Theo had just told him that it didn’t exist, that he didn’t have a pack with Mason, Corey and Nolan, even though he had a chance to be part of it.  
That was something he’d always wanted.  
But when he thought about it though, it became awfully clear that they actually were a pack. How many times had Mason helped Liam with something supernatural now, risking his life for his friend? Theo could still remember the time that Mason tried to get an invisible Liam and Corey out of the school, to escape Gabe and Nolan who were looking for him. Liam had told him about that. And then there was Nolan, who had managed to worm his way into the pack, despite starting off at the wrong foot.  
They really were a pack, it was clear for him to see now, and Theo realized that he wanted to be part of it. Liam had told him that it was simple, even if he didn’t see it at first, and Theo realized he was right. He was just scared because he felt like he didn’t deserve it, and he thought that Mason, Corey and Nolan felt the same way. But they didn’t, because they’d been nothing but nice to him ever since the start of the month. Liam wanted him to be part of it, and Theo wanted to be a part of it, and he would try harder to make that happen.

Theo looked at his phone on his nightstand, and saw that it was half past ten, which meant that he was awake a little later than he and the Geyers usually were. He hoped there was still some breakfast left.  
When he looked around, he was surprised to find Liam standing in his doorway, looking nervous, and with a small, colorful-looking flyer in his hand.

‘Hey,’ he said quietly. ‘Can I come in?’

Theo nodded silently, shrugging.

Liam walked in unsure, hesitating before he sat down on the bed at the end, as far away from Theo as possible.

Theo could still cut the tension with a knife. He hated it.

Liam sighed, looking down at his lap. ‘Look, I just want to say that I’m sorry about last night,’ he started. ‘I know, with that mistletoe and everything, I acted really stupid, but I was a little drunk, like you said. That’s not an excuse though, and I didn’t really know what to do, but I can’t really explain it. I just didn’t think about what it would feel like for you, didn’t realize that I made you feel like I wasn’t serious or it was just a joke, because I swear, it isn’t.’

He looked up at Theo, a serious look on his face. Theo sighed.

‘I’m sorry too,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have lashed out and screamed at you like that, you didn’t deserve that. And I… shouldn’t have been so harsh about your friends.’

Liam shook his head. ‘No, it’s okay,’ he said, well-meant. ‘I get it, I know we’re not a real pack and I’m not an Alpha, but they’re all the pack I have when Scott’s gone.’

Theo nodded. ‘I know.’

‘I shouldn’t have made it sound like a joke when I said I wanted you in it, because I do. And I know how important that is to you, so… I’m sorry.’

‘I know,’ Theo repeated softly, his heart beating faster as he wondered if he Liam meant it when he said that he was important to him as well. ‘I’m sorry too. Because you’re right about this being simple, and I want to be part of it, I was just scared because I felt like I didn’t deserve it. But I want to try and be someone who does.’

Liam looked up at him, a gentle look on his face as he said: ‘You already are.’

Something in Theo’s stomach fluttered at that and Liam smiled his face lighting up as he put the flyer on his lap. Theo took a curious look at it. ‘What’s that?’

‘This is… kind of my way of making it up to you,’ Liam said. ‘I found this on the table this morning, my mom must’ve put it there after it came in the mail. It’s a flyer for a Christmas market just outside of Beacon Hills.’

He looked up, looking and sounding a little unsure as he said: ‘I thought that we… could go together? To check it out?’

He blushed a little, making Theo feel like it was suddenly a little hotter in the room. ‘Yeah,’ he said with a smile, even though it sounded an awful lot like a date, and his heart was beating faster again. ‘That sounds good.’

*****

The Christmas market was one of the most beautiful things Theo had ever seen.  
He and Liam had agreed to go after dark, so the Christmas lights would give a full effect. And they really did.  
It had snowed a little, covering the ground in a magical thin layer of snow, and there were stalls decorated with light strings everywhere, selling food, scarves or hats or gloves, and all things Christmas. In the middle of the square there was a large, decorated Christmas tree, and there was soft Christmas music playing all over the market. People were walking around with admiring looks on their faces, and it put Theo in a good mood immediately.  
He felt the admiration for the whole place as well.

Liam lead him over to one of the first stands, where they mostly sold hats or scarves. ‘Do you want anything?’ he asked.

Theo shook his head. He still had hats from Liam or David that he could borrow, and even though his missed his old beanie that he had lost during the fight with the hunters a bit, he felt thankful for that.  
He and Liam strolled over to another stall, where they sold stuff like nutcrackers, decorations and ornaments for the Christmas tree. Theo’s attention was drawn by a particularly colorful tree ornament, that he looked at until he couldn’t resist anymore and pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

‘What do you got there?’ Liam asked, when Theo caught up with him again.

He opened up the little bag that he had, showing off the ornament to Liam. Liam looked up, smirking. ‘Never thought you were the type to buy something like that,’ he chuckled.

Theo shrugged. ‘We can just hang it in the tree, or something.’

Liam grinned, but he didn’t say anything about it. When they strolled to the next few stalls though, Theo noticed that Liam kept brushing his hand against his, until Theo decided that he couldn’t take it anymore, and hooked his pinky around Liam’s.  
Like that, they strolled past a few other stands, until something drew Liam’s attention, and he pulled Theo over with him.

‘Look!’ Liam exclaimed excitedly, pointing at two matching blue Christmas mugs with snowflakes and a snowman on them. ‘I’m getting those for us!’

Theo rolled his eyes, snickering. ‘You’re such a dork,’ he said. ‘I hope you don’t think that I’m actually going to drink out of those mugs.’

‘Yes, you will,’ Liam said, before thanking the salesman for the mugs, and turning around to face Theo again. ‘Otherwise I’ll have bought them for nothing.’

Theo chuckled. ‘Seems like that’s the case anyway. They’re hideous.’

Liam sighed. ‘Christmas mugs are supposed to be hideous, Theodore.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I suppose so,’ Theo replied. ‘And don’t call me that!’

Liam grinned wickedly, before taking Theo’s hand again a little slow and unsure. They strolled past the stalls, that sold a lot of stuff that wasn’t all that different from the first stalls, until they came past a stall that sold hot chocolate and some snacks.

‘Can we…’ Theo started, but Liam had already guessed it.

‘Sure,’ he said, while pulling his wallet out of his pocket. ‘I can’t believe I’m paying for your hot chocolate addiction,’ he said as he got a hot chocolate for the both of them.

‘You didn’t have to, you know,’ Theo said.

‘Yes, I did,’ Liam replied. ‘I know you like it.’

Theo felt a warm feeling inside that didn’t just come from the hot chocolate, and he smiled at Liam.

Liam looked back at him, bursting out laughing. ‘You have some…’ He gestured to his lip, and Theo glared at him. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t just let me walk around with that chocolate milk moustache,’ he said.

Liam giggled, feigning disappointment. ‘Oh man,’ he said. ‘I really should have done that.’

Theo tried to pretend to be mad about that, but in the end he just smiled.  
After they’d finished their hot chocolate, they walked to the end of the small market, where they stopped and turned around to look at the magical sight before them.  
And that was when Theo couldn’t hold it in anymore. This whole thing, walking around on the Christmas market, had felt like something that was more than friendship, but he wasn’t sure, and he just wanted to know.  
So Theo gathered all the courage he had, and looked at Liam. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Sure,’ Liam replied.

‘Is this a date?’

The question caught Liam off-guard and he blinked, coughing a little. ‘Eh, what? A date?’ he asked, and Theo could already feel the small amount of hope he had slipping away.

Liam regained his confidence soon enough though, and he said: ‘Well, it does look like a date. So… it’s a date if you want it to be.’

Theo remained silent, not sure how he felt about that answer, when Liam looked up at him again and asked: Theo?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I want it to be a date too.’

Theo’s eyes widened and he could the corner of his mouth turning upwards just slightly. ‘Really?’ he asked.

Liam nodded, a big smile appearing on his face. ‘Yeah, really.’

Theo grinned, feeling his heart racing in his chest. ‘Then it’s a date.’

Liam beamed, grabbing Theo’s hand more confidently now. ‘Come on. We should go back.’

Theo nodded, and with their hands linked together, they strolled past the stalls on the way back that they hadn’t seen yet. They didn’t really sell much other stuff than what they’d already seen though, but then Liam’s attention was drawn by something.

‘Look what I see,’ he grinned wickedly. ‘How convenient, some mistletoe.’

Rapidly, Theo turned around to look at the mistletoe that was hanging from a stall, and raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re not gonna throw it at me again, are you?’ he asked.

Despite his joke though, he could feel the anxiety getting worse, as he remembered how Liam had basically made a joke about kissing him just the night before. Liam seemed to know what he was thinking about though, and smiled gently.

‘No,’ he said, chuckling. ‘No, I’m not gonna throw it at you. But I am gonna ask if it’s okay if I kissed you.’

Theo genuinely couldn’t believe how lucky he was. There was still a small voice in his head saying that he didn’t deserve this, that someone like Liam would never like someone like him, but he managed to ignore it for now. He also ignored the fact how incredibly cheesy it was that they had their first kiss under the mistletoe on a Christmas market.  
Slowly, he leaned forward, feeling how his heart was racing as Liam pressed his soft lips against his, a wave of excitement washing over him. He wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck slowly. Cheesy as it sounded, he felt safe and at home in Liam’s arms, and butterflies fluttered through his stomach.  
He loved it. And he couldn’t believe how things had gotten so incredibly good again after their big bad fight last night.  
Then he could feel Liam pulling back slowly, and Theo opened his eyes, staring into Liam’s beautiful blue ones. For once, he didn’t know what to say.

‘Wow…’ he managed eventually. ‘That was…’

‘Yeah…’ Liam replied, looking and sounding hopeful when he looked up at Theo and asked: ‘Something we can… try again?’

Theo nodded, smiling softly. ‘Definitely.’

‘Good,’ Liam said, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Theo’s mouth and taking his hand again. Still a bit dazed, unable to believe how lucky he was, Theo followed after him, and they walked back past the stalls. Around halfway back, Liam let go of Theo’s hand, and Theo noticed a little too late that he had walked off in a different direction.

Worriedly, he looked around the market, even though Liam was nowhere to be seen. ‘Liam!’ he called, growing a little panicked. Of course, he thought annoyedly then. It was just like Liam to wander off on his own somewhere.

And then, Liam appeared beside him again. ‘Early Christmas present!’ he called.

Theo jumped, startled, and crossing his arms after the initial shock. ‘Where were you?’ he asked.

‘Uh, I bought these,’ Liam said a little confused, before showing Theo the brown paper bag he had and the little candy canes that were inside. ‘As an early Christmas present. Figured that you should have at least one of those in the time leading up to Christmas.’

Theo looked inside, finding himself wanting to try the candy.

‘Why?’ Liam asked then. ‘Were you worried about me?’

Theo looked up. ‘Nope.’

A grin appeared on Liam’s face, though, and he poked Theo in the side, teasing him. ‘You were! You were worried about me.’

Theo flushed, staring down at his feet. ‘Maybe a little…’ he mumbled with heated cheeks.

Liam giggled, offering Theo a candy cane. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go back to the car.’

Theo nodded, and with his pinky hooked around Liam’s again and a candy cane in the other hand, they walked back to the car.

The car ride back home was peaceful. Liam was humming Christmas music again, a sound that Theo had really started to love, and he stared out of the window, feeling peaceful and at home. Happy.  
Never in a million years would he have thought to be where he was now, living in a home with kind people who treated him like he belonged there, having a chance at a nice Christmas, and actually having a chance at happiness with someone as amazing as Liam. He felt like Liam actually may have succeeded in his mission to make Theo like Christmas.

‘Liam?’ he said quietly.

‘Yeah?’ Liam looked over at him.

‘I just… Wanted you to know that I had a really good time at the market,’ he said shyly, fumbling with the hem of his shirt. ‘Thanks for taking me there.’

‘Ah, you don’t have to thank me,’ Liam said. ‘I had fun too, you know.’

‘But it’s not just that, though,’ Theo said then. ‘I, uh, also wanted to say thank you, for convincing me to go home with you when you found I was sleeping in my truck. My living conditions are considerably better now.’

Liam grinned.

‘And for giving me a nice Christmas already, these past two weeks or so,’ he said then, looking over at Liam. ‘I think you may actually have succeeded in your mission to make me like Christmas. If it’s like this every year, then it’s definitely special.’

Liam’s grin grew bigger, as he looked at Theo. ‘I knew it!’ he said, joking, despite the fact that their was actually a faint blush on his cheeks. ‘I knew you liked Christmas, you have for a while now.’

‘I may have,’ Theo responded quietly, blushing a little himself.

Liam chuckled. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Then we can enjoy the Christmas spirit together.’

Theo rolled his eyes. ‘Doesn’t that sound good,’ he said sarcastically, earning himself a push against his shoulder from Liam, as he kept his other hand on the steering wheel. Theo chuckled, leaning back against his seat and staring out of the window again. A comfortable silence returned in the car, and Theo smiled.  
Soon, though, they arrived home and Liam parked the car again, before they both got out of the car and walked back inside.

*****

The nightmares returned that night. Theo tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get comfortable, but he felt panicked and stressed, not relaxed at all, and he could still feel Tara’s fingers in his chest. Ripping his heart out. And making it burn.  
He coughed, mumbling something he had forgotten about a second later again already, and trying to catch his breath. He felt like it was no use. Usually, after one those nightmares, he couldn’t get back to sleep again anymore.

Now, he had only just startled awake from a particular nasty nightmare, barely even awake, when he noticed Liam had appeared in the doorway. ‘Theo?’ he asked. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Fine,’ he growled, turning around and wishing that Liam would just go back to his own room already.

Liam just sighed though, walking over to the bed. ‘Move over,’ he said.

Theo rubbed his eyes, blinking. ‘What?’

‘Move over,’ Liam repeated with a sigh, before lying down next to him. Theo, who felt too tired and irritated to deal with this in the middle of the night, did what he said, feeling it when Liam rolled over and wrapped his arms around him from behind. ‘Is this alright?’ he asked.

Theo nodded, feeling a little more relaxed than before. ‘Yeah,’ he whispered. ‘Yeah, this is perfect.’

That was the last thing heard before his eyes fell shut, and he fell asleep.

When he woke up that morning, he woke to find Liam sitting on the edge of the bed, apparently only just having woken up himself. When he heard Theo sitting up behind him though, he looked over his shoulder with a smile. ‘Good morning,’ he said, with a low morning voice that Theo thought was kind of hot. He shuffled closer to Liam, before pressing a kiss to his mouth, loving it that he was able to do that now. ‘Good morning.’

Liam smiled. ‘What did I do to deserve that?’

‘Just… being here, I guess,’ Theo said. ‘That was one of the only nights I slept without nightmares.’

A frown appeared on Liam’s face. ‘You have those a lot, don’t you?’ he asked quietly.

Theo nodded softly. ‘Yeah…’

Liam smiled sadly, placing his hand on top of Theo’s. ‘You know,’ he said. ‘If you don’t sleep well again, you can come to me. I don’t mind.’

Theo smiled, nodding. ‘Thank you.’ He wasn’t sure if he would accept the offer, though. He would have to see.

Liam nodded, standing up from the bed. ‘Let’s just get dressed and go downstairs now, okay?’

Theo chuckled, getting up as well. ‘Sounds good to me.’

*****

David and Jenna took them gift shopping that day. Theo was actually looking forward to it, he thought as he and Liam were sitting in the backseat of the car.  
Over the course past week, ever since the cookie baking, Theo had grown more comfortable around Jenna and learned to talk to her better, discovering how easy it was. He also found out that she liked to joke around with Liam, just as much as he did, and it always made him laugh when he and Jenna teamed up to do it together.  
It also made him feel more comfortable in the house over all as well, like it was his place now too.  
Jenna had also almost immediately noticed that there was something different about them when they came downstairs for breakfast, guessing that they were together now, even if Theo and Liam weren’t sure if they wanted to tell them yet. Theo had been a little nervous about whether she would accept it, but she had been more than alright with it.

‘Okay,’ Jenna said once they’d gotten out of the car and walked inside the mall. ‘Where do we go first?’

‘Eh…’ Liam looked around. ‘Should we just go to a store where we can probably find something for everyone?’

Theo raised his eyebrows. ‘You don’t know what to buy, do you?’

‘I’m a terrible gift shopper, okay!?’ Liam exclaimed.

Theo chuckled. ‘Clearly,’ he said, making Jenna laugh. He had made an entire shopping list, trying to think of the best Christmas presents for everyone, and Liam didn’t even know what to buy.  
When they walked into the store, though, Theo already saw that it had a few different departments. Before they could all walk in a different direction though, Jenna stopped them. ‘Is it an idea if we meet at the exit in 45 minutes or so again?’ she asked. ‘That should give us some time, right? And then you can shop together for a little bit if you like,’ she said to Theo and Liam.

David nodded. ‘I think that works.’

‘Okay,’ Jenna said, smiling. ‘Then I’ll see you guys there then,’ she said, before walking off with David.

Liam looked at Theo. ‘Should we go too, then?’

Theo nodded, waiting for Liam before he started to walk into the direction of the kitchenware. He didn’t exactly know what he wanted to buy for Jenna, but he had written down a few things that he thought she would like, and he only had to pick the best thing now.  
For both him and Liam, though, the best present wasn’t in the kitchen department, and they walked a small round around the store before they both found something they liked. Along the way, they managed to find a present for David and for each other as well.

‘I’m gonna buy something for Mason, Corey and Nolan as well,’ Theo mumbled, causing Liam to look in surprise. ‘Really?’ he asked.

Theo thought back on the past two weeks, how he’d had actually quite a lot of fun with the three of them when they went ice skating, or during that snowball fight and the Christmas sweater contest. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Really.’

It took him a while, but eventually he found a nice gift for them. It took Liam a little longer because he needed to get presents for Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia as well. During the time that Theo had to wait for him, he decided to get four small presents for them as well, just because.  
Eventually, with the presents for Liam, his parents, and the rest of the Pack all together in a plastic bag, he and Liam walked to the exit like Jenna had told them.

When they got there, Jenna and David were already waiting for them, smiling as they spotted them. ‘Did you get everything?’ Jenna asked.

Theo and Liam held their plastic bags up proudly. ‘Yep!’

‘Good,’ Jenna smiled. ‘Listen, David and I actually still need to get some presents for Carol and William, but I get it if you don’t want to come along for that.’

Liam frowned. ‘Not really, no,’ he said, before turning to Theo. ‘But we can get coffee somewhere, while we wait for them, if you want.’

‘Can I get a hot chocolate?’ Theo asked, causing Liam to sigh and roll his eyes. ‘Yes, Theo, you can get a hot chocolate.’

Jenna burst out laughing at their interaction, chuckling as she told Liam that she would send him a text when they were done and walked away.  
Theo followed Liam to a nice coffeeshop he knew that was in the mall, and they managed to get inside despite their giant plastic bags. They sat down across from each other at a table in the back, by the window, and after Liam had put his stuff down he stood up again.

‘I’ll pay today,’ he said. ‘Consider this my treat.’

‘Liam, you don’t have to…’ Theo started, because Liam had also bought him hot chocolate at the Christmas market, but Liam just rolled his eyes. ‘You always say that, but I want to. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ was Theo’s only answer, because he had a feeling it was no use trying to talk him out of it anyway.

Liam smiled and walked up to the counter, ordering their drinks and paying for them. He waited around a bit before he came back with a cappuccino and a hot chocolate, and Theo smiled when he saw that Liam had also bought them two blueberry muffins.

‘That looks really nice,’ he said, taking his hot chocolate and muffin from Liam. ‘Thank you.’

Liam smiled and sat down across from him again, taking a small sip from his cappuccino. Theo did the same with his hot chocolate, before he looked up at Liam.

‘So who are Carol and William?’ he asked.

‘Oh,’ Liam replied, rolling his eyes. ‘They’re my aunt and uncle, who always come for dinner during the holidays. But they’re kind of stuck-up and snobby, and they have two annoying little brats of children. I’m pretty sure my mom doesn’t like them either, but she says it’s just something we have to sit through.’

Theo would have chuckled at that, at how they apparently had little brats of children and Jenna didn’t like them either, if the feeling of anxiety hadn’t suddenly grown worse. He didn’t think he could handle dinner with people like that, especially if they were snobby like Liam said. They would probably fire all sorts of questions at him, people he didn’t even know but seemed bad already, and he felt nervous for Christmas dinner already.

Liam seemed to know what he was thinking though, and placed his hand on top of Theo’s on the table. ‘It’s alright,’ he said. ‘Remember that me and my parents don’t like them either. And if they start acting nasty towards you, I think my mom might actually kick them out. Nothing’s gonna happen when we’re there.’

Theo smiled slightly at that, feeling a little better already, but still not completely reassured. He managed to get it out of his head though, instead focusing on the here and now. Right now he was just sitting in a nice coffeeshop with Liam, relaxed, and enjoying his hot chocolate and blueberry muffin.  
He could cross that bridge when he came to it.

‘I’m so curious to see what you bought for me!’ Liam exclaimed.

Theo chuckled, raising his eyebrows. ‘Who said I even bought anything for you?’

Liam’s jaw dropped, kicking his foot under the table. ‘Hey, asshole!’

Theo grinned wickedly. ‘Of course I bought something for you, you idiot. But if you want to know what it is, you’ll just have to wait and see.’

Liam stuck his tongue out, taking another sip from his coffee when Jenna and David came in.

‘We saw you guys sitting here!’ Jenna smiled. ‘It’s a nice place, isn’t it?’

Theo nodded. ‘Yeah, for sure.’

Jenna smiled, and she and David sat down beside Liam and Theo, to wait and sat with them for a bit until they had finished their drinks and their muffin. Their bags were even bigger than Theo’s, and he liked the thought that they celebrated Christmas like this. Loved it even, when he thought back on the things that Liam had showed that he liked to do in the December month.  
When they’d finished their drinks and muffins, the four of them stood up to leave the coffeeshop again, taking all of their presents bag to the car. They put everything in the back and got in the car, driving home again. And during the ride, Theo thought that he couldn’t wait to give everyone their presents.

*****

As it turned out, Liam was terrible at gift wrapping, and Theo had to help him.  
When Liam asked him to help, and Theo walked into his room, he wasn’t expecting there to be a whole lot of balls of wrapping paper on the floor, and badly wrapped Christmas presents.

‘No matter what I do, it gets messy and ugly,’ Liam complained. ‘And it’s so frustrating!’

Theo sighed, sitting down on the bed and picking up one of the presents. ‘That’s probably the problem,’ he said. ‘You want to do it right so badly, that you try too hard and you mess up.’

‘Can you help me?’ Liam asked quietly.

‘I can try,’ Theo replied. ‘Although I’m not sure I can fix this mess anymore.’

It took Liam a little while to realize that Theo was joking, and when he did, he gave a push against Theo’s shoulder. ‘Asshole,’ he muttered.

Theo giggled, and sat down on the floor instead, pulling a present closer to him. It appeared to be some kind of Star Wars merch, which made Theo guess that it was meant for Stiles, and he unwrapped it, throwing the wrapping paper away. Then, he got the wrapping paper, and wrapped the package again, making sure to make it look nice, complete with bow and all.

‘Wow,’ Liam said. ‘I wish I could make it look that good.’

Theo laughed. ‘You know, it’s not very hard to make it look nice when yours are all so bad.’

‘Well, I didn’t do it on purpose,’ Liam said in return. ‘My parents always used to wrap my presents.’

Theo nodded slowly, the comment making him wish that he still had his own parents to celebrate Christmas with. He didn’t feel sad for long though, not when he remembered that he actually had people to celebrate Christmas with now.

‘Can you do the rest too?’ Liam asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Theo nodded, slowly unwrapping the bad looking ones and wrapping them again to make sure they looked nice. Liam sat down on the floor against the bed next to him, their legs touching, and every now and then he smiled at Theo. Something in his stomach fluttered.  
When all the presents were done, Liam looked up at Theo with a warm look in his eyes that made Theo’s heart race, and he leaned forward to press a kiss against Theo’s lips.

‘What was that for?’ he asked, smiling, as Liam pulled back.

‘You know,’ Liam said, gesturing towards the presents. ‘For all of this. Thank you.’

A warm feeling filled Theo’s chest and the idea for a joke formed in his mind, as he looked up into Liam’s gorgeous blue eyes. ‘Should I wrap my present too?’ he asked.

‘Yeah.’ Liam stood up. ‘It’s…’ He paused, mid-step, and turning back around to Theo with his eyebrows raised. ‘I’m not falling for that, Raeken! It’s meant to be a surprise.’

Theo giggled, and Liam sat down on the floor beside him again. Looking up at him and leaning in for another kiss.

Theo smiled into the kiss, but after a while, he pulled back. ‘Liam,’ he started. ‘I have to wrap my own presents…’

‘Ssh,’ Liam hushed him. ‘You can do that later,’ he mumbled, before kissing him again.

Needless to say, Theo did it later.

*****

On the twenty-fourth, the whole Pack came over to celebrate Christmas at Liam’s together, and exchange gifts. Jenna had made sure that there was food and drinks for them, and after everyone had arrived, the living room had quickly turned into a nice, relaxed party.  
Theo sat on the couch with Liam next to him, their hands brushing together where no one could see it, because no one in the Pack knew that they were together yet. He watched as Scott gave Malia her present, before he sat down again.  
Malia seemed to be happy with it, and then she got a small present of her own that she got for Stiles.  
Theo watched as the pile of Christmas presents got smaller, yet he hadn’t gotten one yet. Despite that, he still hoped there were one or two presents for him.

When they decided to take a break and continue with the presents later, Theo stood up and walked to the kitchen, but was taken aback when he found Scott and Stiles there.

‘Oh, eh… hey,’ he said awkwardly.

‘Hey…’ Scott replied just as awkward, and he only got a tense nod from Stiles, who was standing by the counter with a glass of water.

‘You know, I…’ he started then. ‘I saw you at the mall the other day. With Liam.’

Theo could feel his blood run cold, and he blinked. ‘W-What…?’ he managed, immediately worrying and wondering what Stiles had seen.

Stiles turned towards him. ‘Yeah, you looked… quite nice, if you know what I mean.’

‘Stiles!’ Scott hissed, before turning to Theo. ‘Don’t listen to him, he still just needs to get used to it. I just wanted to say that you don’t have anything to worry about.’

The comment hardly calmed Theo down, especially when Stiles said: ‘Well, we don’t want him to corrupt our little beta, now, do we?’

Theo turned around quickly, when he suddenly heard Liam’s voice behind him. ‘Theo? Is everything okay?’

Theo shrugged, staring at his boyfriend with wide eyes. ‘They know.’

It took a little while for Liam to realize what he was talking about, but when he did, his jaw dropped. ‘They know?’ he asked. ‘About…’

‘About us, yeah,’ Theo said, a little annoyed, because he felt nervous since there was no way the rest of the Pack was gonna approve of them being together. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t even care, because he was happy with Liam, but he did. ‘Stiles saw us at the mall when we went gift shopping.’

‘Okay, listen…’ Liam started, stepping further into the kitchen, but he was interrupted by Scott.

‘Liam, you don’t need to explain. Stiles is just going a little too far, and… If you and Theo are happy together, then there’s not really anything we’re going to do about it, alright?’

Theo blinked, wondering if he heard that right. ‘What?’

Scott chuckled. ‘Congratulations, man.’

And then Liam looked at him, beaming, and a small smile appeared on Theo’s face. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘That wasn’t going the way I expected.’

Scott laughed at that, and he suggested that they’d go back to the living room to continue the gift exchange. Stiles followed after them, yelling as they stepped into the living room again. ‘It’s true!’ he exclaimed, not having to clarify what he was talking about.

‘Ugh,’ was the only thing that Lydia said, looking up from her phone. ‘Finally.’

Corey elbowed his boyfriend in the side, grinning at him. ‘I told you,’ he said proudly. ‘I knew there was something!’

Theo’s eyes widened, sitting back down on the couch next to Liam. ‘You all knew?’

‘Yeah, man,’ Mason said. ‘It was kinda obvious.’

Theo laughed at that, mostly feeling relieved that no one was acting like it was a bad thing that he and Liam were dating. If he knew that they all had expected it, wondering when it was gonna happen, he might have done something about sooner. He wouldn’t have been so scared of their reactions when it was revealed that he and Liam were together.

‘Look,’ he said. ‘Can we just continue with the gifts, please?’

‘Sure,’ Scott replied. ‘Sure.’

After that, the presents slowly disappeared one by one, until the presents that Theo had bought were some of the only gifts that were still lying on the floor.

‘I, uh, bought some presents for you too,’ he said to the older Pack members, deciding that he would give his presents to Mason, Corey and Nolan after that.

‘Cool!’ Stiles jumped up, grabbing his present from the floor and unwrapping it. Scott, Lydia and Malia took theirs too, unwrapping them and seeming perfectly happy with them, and then it turned out that they had each bought something for Theo too.  
Theo was shocked to find out about it.  
He liked them, though, even if they were small like the ones he had bought for them. Even the Garfield calendar that Stiles had bought for him, with a new little comic for each day. Theo found that the comics were actually funny, and he liked them.

‘I, eh, bought something for you too,’ Nolan said, once all the other presents were done. He handed Theo a perfectly wrapped, rectangle gift, that Theo unwrapped slowly. Inside, he found the sci-fi book that he’d been wanting for a while now, and he looked up at Nolan.

‘I know you said that you really wanted this, so… I hoped you would like it,’ Nolan said quietly.

‘Seriously?’ Theo asked. ‘Nolan, this is amazing. Thank you.’

A smile appeared on Nolan’s face, and he nodded. ‘Okay. Good. I’m glad you like it.’

Theo nodded, smiling, and placed the book on the couch beside him.

‘We got you something too!’ Mason said, gesturing to himself and Corey. ‘Together.’

Theo took the soft present from them, and unwrapped it. Inside he found a grey shirt with the words ‘Evil Chimera’ printed in black letters on the front.

‘We printed it ourselves,’ Corey said with a small smile, not sure how Theo would take it. ‘We thought it’d be funny.’

Theo knew it was just meant as a joke though, and he chuckled. It was just his sense of humor. ‘I like it,’ he said. ‘It is funny. Thank you.’

Mason looked relieved at that, leaning back against the couch again. ‘Oh, good.’

Liam gave him his next present, a badly wrapped gift that was so obviously the mug that Liam had bought for him at the Christmas market. Theo snorted.

‘I got this for you now, you’ll get your other present tomorrow,’ Liam said, blushing as his comment was followed by wolf-whistling from the rest of the group.

‘Thanks,’ Theo grinned, holding up the mug before placing it on the couch next to him with the book and his new shirt. Then he stood up, and said: ‘I have some presents for you guys as well.’

‘Oh, yeah!’ Mason exclaimed, excitedly.

Theo handed him his present, a big, neatly wrapped box, and watched as Mason put hit on his lap to unwrap it.

‘It’s something I bought for you together,’ he said nervously, gesturing to him and Corey. ‘But maybe it would be nice for everyone too.’

Mason tore the wrapping paper away, looking down at the game of 30 Seconds, a quick party game you could play with your friends, where you had to describe things to the other people in your team, who then had to guess what it was.

‘Theo, this is awesome!’ Mason said. ‘We are definitely getting together soon to play this.’

Theo sighed in relief, glad that Mason and the others liked it. Then he turned to Nolan, handing him his own present. It was a video game that Nolan had mentioned he would like to have, just as Theo had done with the book, and Nolan seemed more than happy with it. ‘Thank you!’

‘Where’s my present?’ Liam asked then, pouting.

Theo turned around to him, grinning. ‘You’ll get yours tomorrow,’ he said.

‘Well, that’s not fair!’ Liam protested. ‘I gave you a present.’

Theo chuckled. ‘You’re gonna have to wait,’ he said, looking up to find the rest of the Pack looking at him and Liam as if they were watching a sitcom.  
He still felt relieved, that everyone was so okay with him and Liam being together. The rest of the day was fun too, everyone was generally more okay with Theo being there, and he was genuinely thankful for the presents they got him.  
At the end of the day he was tired though, and despite all the fun he had, he was glad to be going home again with Liam that night.

*****

The next morning, Theo and Liam woke up peacefully, together in Liam’s bed. They’ve been doing that ever since Liam stayed in Theo’s room after his nightmare, and Theo liked it. It was peaceful at night, and he found that he slept better there.

‘Good morning,’ Liam whispered, his voice soft and low, and he blinked from only just having woken up.

‘Good morning,’ Theo whispered back.

They kept lying in bed for one more minute, before Liam got up to get dressed. Theo followed his lead, and they walked downstairs for breakfast.  
It was nice, and they all seemed to be in a good mood.

‘Should we… Open our presents now?’ Jenna asked after breakfast, with a smile on her face.

David and Liam agreed with her and they walked to the living room, where the presents were lying under the tree.  
Theo sat down on the couch next to Liam, leaning against the back, and intertwined their fingers between them.

‘Should I go first?’ David asked, standing up to get one of the presents.

Theo watched patiently, with a small smile on his face, as he gave his presents to his wife and son, a new book to read for Jenna and a book on history and mythology for Liam. Theo could tell that he loved it.  
Then it was Liam’s turn and after giving his presents to his parents, he turned to Theo. ‘I know I’m a terrible gift giver,’ he said, ‘Like, even worse than I am at wrapping them, but I hope you’ll still like them.’

Theo unwrapped the soft present first, finding a black beanie inside. Liam looked a little nervous when he said: ‘I know how much you liked your old one, and that you hated it when you lost it during the war. So I got you a new one, if it’s not totally lame.’

‘It’s not,’ Theo said softly, placing the beanie on the couch beside him. ‘I love it, thank you.’ He did love his old beanie, and he was happy to have a new one now.

‘Okay, good,’ Liam said relieved. ‘Because in case you didn’t like it, I got you this too.’

He gave Theo a smaller present, square-shaped, in red wrapping paper, and when Theo opened it, he found a game of Cards Against Humanity inside.

With raised eyebrows and a grin on his face, Theo looked up. ‘Really, Liam? You got me this?’

‘Well, I thought it would be funny if we tried that,’ Liam said defensively, and Theo laughed, because it would be funny.

Even more so when Jenna opened her mouth and asked: ‘Can I join too then?’

Liam chuckled. ‘Sure, mom,’ he said. ‘You can join too,’ and for some reason, Theo thought that she’d be really good at it.

‘Thank you, Liam,’ he said, putting the game down beside him. He really was sure they would have fun with it. The game was perfect for people with their sense of humor.

‘Should we give you your present now, Theo?’ Jenna asked. ‘David and I got one for you together.’

Theo nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘There you go,’ David said with a smile. It was another soft present, and when Theo opened it, he pulled out an incredibly soft, blue knitted sweater, and held it up so he could take a look at it. It felt incredibly soft.

‘We just wanted you to have something nice and warm, now that it’s colder outside,’ Jenna explained. ‘What do you think?’

‘I… I love it,’ Theo said quietly, unable to hide how happy he was with it. He knew that it was just a sweater, but Jenna and David had really bought a nice one specially for him. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’m glad you like it,’ Jenna smiled, leaning back against the couch.

Theo nodded, folding up the sweater carefully and putting it down beside him. Then it was finally his turn and he gave his first present to Jenna. Carefully, to make sure it didn’t fall and break, he gave her the tree ornament he had bought at the Christmas market.

‘I just… Thank you for letting me stay here,’ he said quietly, causing Jenna to smile at him.

‘It’s no problem, sweetie, we’re happy to have you,’ she said, giving Theo a warm feeling in his chest.

She held up the ornament, smiling. ‘And it’s beautiful. Thank you. I’ll hang it up right now.’

It looked even prettier in the tree, and Theo smiled. Then he got up again, to give Jenna his other present.

‘Oh,’ she joked. ‘There’s more!’

Theo chuckled and on her lap, she opened the present, pulling a long, warm, light grey scarf that looked incredibly soft. Jenna’s eyes widened, and she looked Theo.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, genuinely. ‘Thank you so much, Theo, I am definitely going to wear this, this winter.’

Theo smiled, a warm feeling filling his chest at her comment. He was really glad that she liked it.

And after he had given his present to David then, a new watch that he had wanted and was really happy with, he turned to Liam.

‘Now you,’ he smirked, giving Liam his present. His heart raced in his chest, and he hoped with all he had that Liam would like it.

Eagerly, Liam tore the wrapping paper away, but looked up at Theo with a shocked look on his face when he saw what was inside. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Yeah,’ Theo said. ‘I know how much you love reading these comic books, and how they’re your favorite. And I know how much you’ve searched for the latest book the last few weeks, always complaining that you couldn’t find it. So… here it is.’

‘What… How did you even find this?’ Liam asked, shocked. ‘It was sold out everywhere!’

‘Not everywhere,’ Theo shrugged. ‘I found it.’

‘Yeah… You did,’ Liam mumbled, staring down at the book on his lap again with wide eyes. ‘This is perfect. Thank you.’

He leaned forward, pulling Theo into a hug and giving Theo a warm feeling inside his chest.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ he said when he pulled back.

‘Well, I wanted to give you something I knew you would like,’ Theo said, before smirking. ‘And your reaction was certainly worth it.’

Liam blushed, mumbling: ‘Shut up,’ but Theo was certainly glad that Liam found it so special. It definitely made him feel proud of himself for finding something that Liam loved.

Jenna chuckled, smiling at them and standing up. ‘Now, now that everyone has their presents, shall I make us all some hot chocolate?’

‘Yeah!’ Liam cheered, and Theo wanted the warm drink as well, before Jenna smiled and walked to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, Theo and Liam had gone back to Liam’s room for a bit, and they sat on the bed together, against the wall by the pillows. Liam had his arms wrapped around his boyfriend.

‘Did you like your presents?’ he asked.

Theo nodded, sighing happily. ‘Yeah. I really did.’

‘Me too,’ Liam said softly, and Theo got lost in his thoughts for a bit.

He honestly didn’t know what he had done to deserve to live and spend Christmas with such kind people, live in their house and have a home and a, dare he say it, a family. And then there was Liam, who had given all those things to him in the first place, and had been nothing but amazing the whole time.

He looked at his boyfriend, his beautiful blue eyes and the way he smiled at Theo, and he knew what to say. ‘I love you.’

Immediately, Liam’s gaze softened and he pulled Theo closer a little bit, smiling softly. ‘I love you too,’ he said, making Theo’s heart race with excitement.  
Because he was happy. Happier than he had been in a long time.

‘Are you ready for it?’ Liam asked then. ‘For Christmas dinner tonight, with my aunt and uncle?’

‘Right,' Theo smirked. 'The snobby ones.'

Liam chuckled. ‘Well, what about Christmas next year?’

‘Next year?’ Theo raised his eyebrows. It shocked him a little bit that Liam was talking about something that was still so far away already, although another side of him was really happy about it.  
Liam really did have faith in this relationship. And that made him have faith too.

‘I’m ready for both, Christmas dinner tonight and Christmas next year,’ Theo told him honestly, lacing their fingers together between them and smiling. ‘Christmas with you will be worth it.’

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> That was it! My Thiam Christmas fic! I actually had a picture of Stiles' , Liam's and Theo's Christmas sweater, their Christmas cookies and the Christmas market, but I don't really know how to put pictures on here, so... Sorry.
> 
> I hope you liked it!


End file.
